Discovered by the Roadside
by Anasazi Darkmoon
Summary: HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Out of the goodness of his spark, Optimus Prime picks up a stranded hitchhiker. Unfortunately, things get complicated when a mad Decepticon assassin decides to join the party. OP/OC friendship.
1. Stranded

Author's Note: Okay, this is my first Transformers fic, and I haven't found a beta yet, so please bear with me if I make any major mistakes. Critiques and advice are welcome. Flames will be ignored/laughed at. Remember people, everyone starts out as a beginner. This story takes place in the movieverse, after Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen, and it serves mostly to answer an odd question I had regarding whether an Autobot would pick up a stranded hitchhiker. The relationship in this story is strictly friendship, nothing more...not even if you squint.

Special Thanks: First of all, I'd like to thank Faecat, who encouraged me to write this, and for answering all of my Transformers-related questions. Fae, you totally rock! Every TF fan should read her fics, especially _Science and Fiction._ Next, I'd like to thank Shawn, my wonderful cousin who helped me come up with the alt mode for my Decepticon character, and all my friends who wanted to read this. Thank you all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. It belongs to Hasbro. If I owned it, I wouldn't be sitting here, writing fanfiction about it.

"_Thoughts/Processes"_

_::Internal Comms::_

* * *

Chapter 1: Stranded

Robin Banks was having a bad day. Scratch that, she was having a _very_ bad day. And trudging down the road in the hot summer sunlight did not help matters any. Why was she walking down the road, when she could have driven? Probably because her ancient, piece of crap Taurus had finally given up the ghost and left her stranded in the scrubby forest a few miles back, leaving her to walk down the empty road, hoping she could get to the gas station she had passed some time ago, find some cell phone reception, or get a ride from some Good Samaritan. Grumbling under her breath, she dug her cell phone out of her pocket and checked it for what must have been the fifteenth time. _"Still no signal?"_ she thought furiously, fighting down the urge to chuck the little piece of equipment into the nearby ditch. _"Why the hell do I even have this thing if I can't actually use it in an emergency?"_

Suddenly, Robin heard a rumble of thunder in the distance, and when she looked out at the horizon, she noticed a line of dark clouds heading in her direction. "Oh joy…rain!" she muttered darkly, shoving her useless phone back into her pocket and renewing her pace. "I guess I should be happy I'm not going to die of a heat stroke."

…

Optimus Prime rolled down the road, unfazed by the driving rain that would have forced a human driver to pull over and wait for it to pass. To tell the truth, the Autobot leader found the sound of rain to be very peaceful, and would often go out during a storm when he wanted to be alone. He always left his comm system open, in case there was an emergency, so no one really complained when he took one of these little side trips. He was actually on his way back to the base, when he noticed someone, a woman, walking down the road, apparently oblivious to the pouring rain. _"Strange,"_ Optimus processed, watching the woman continue walking. _"Humans do not usually go out in the rain if they can help it. They can become ill from prolonged exposure to bad weather."_ He quickly ran a scan on her, but found no signs of illness or injury. _"Perhaps she is lost? If so, then there is no harm in helping her."_

Having made his decision, Optimus quickly generated a holoform to keep from startling the woman, and began to slow down.

…

Robin fought down the urge to cry as the rain continued to fall. Once it had started pouring, she had reluctantly turned around, trying to make her way back to her busted car to ride out the storm and see if maybe, just maybe, it finally decided to work. Of course, now she was soaked and shivering, which only made her more miserable. "What more could go wrong?" she wailed to the uncaring sky.

No one answered, so she continued to walk, sniffling as a few tears finally escaped her. Before she could berate herself for crying, however, a strange, but brief, tingling sensation washed over her, as if someone was staring intently at her. Before the feeling could truly give her the creeps, however, the sound of an oncoming vehicle caught her attention. She turned around just in time to see a semi truck slow down, and then stop. _"Wow, that's certainly a flashy paint job!"_ she thought, gaping at the blue and red flames on the truck. _"I just hope he's not some sort of mad serial killer. I'm already alone in the middle of nowhere, and I don't need a psycho man to complete the horror movie cliché."_

Cautiously, she stepped back as the passenger door opened, ready to bolt if the driver turned out to be some sort of creepy weirdo, but when she got a good look at them, she let herself relax slightly. The driver was a tall, slightly muscular man dressed in blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red jacket. He appeared to be in his forties or fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and a beard, lined but somewhat handsome features, and bright blue eyes that somehow made him look ageless. _"Huh…this guy reminds me of someone. I just don't know who…"_ Robin thought, cocking her head to the side as she studied the man.

"You really should not be out in the rain," the truck driver said, his face etched with concern.

Robin blinked, surprised by the man's baritone voice. She couldn't pinpoint what made it sound strange, she just knew that it did. _"Maybe it's just the acoustics in there?"_ Shrugging it off, Robin quickly regained her composure, however, and replied, "I know, but my car broke down, and I can't get any cell phone reception out here." She smiled sheepishly, and continued, "Actually, I was on my way back to my car when you pulled up. Do you think you could give me a ride? It's not that far, and you're headed in that direction anyway."

The man nodded and said, "Climb in."

…

A dark blue Harley-Davidson motorcycle raced down an empty side road, conspicuous in its lack of a rider. Of course, the Decepticon, Darklight, could have cared less if anyone saw him without a holoform. **"The little meat-bags couldn't catch us, anyway!"** he cackled insanely. **"Maybe I should go find one, though, and play with it 'til it breaks. I like how all that red fluid pours out when they break."**

"IT IS CALLED 'BLOOD', DARK," he admonished. "AND WE CANNOT PLAY WITH A FLESHLING NOW. WE ARE ON A MISSION, REMEMBER?"

"**You're no fun, Light!"** Dark whined, before submitting to his other half.

Darklight suffered from a severely fractured personality. One part, the 'Dark' part, was chaotic, fearless, and fond of death and mayhem. The other part, 'Light', was just as ruthless, but cold and calculating, and therefore, took the lead in most of their operations. Both personalities were always active, however, and communicated to each other aloud, much to the annoyance of most of their Decepticon brethren. Darklight's current mission was to locate an Autobot thought to be in the vicinity, and eliminate it. The Decepticon assassin did not care which one it was, though, just as long as he could offline it…preferably while inflicting as much pain as possible.

Darklight continued moving, searching for any sign that the Autobot had been nearby, when his sensors reported a vehicle moving along a nearby highway. Quickly, he turned off the side road and into the scrubland, running parallel to the highway. When he finally spotted the vehicle, a semi with a red and blue flame paintjob, he froze dead in his tracks in surprise. **"The Prime! It's the Prime!"** Dark crowed. **"We get to offline Optimus Prime!"**

"QUIET," Light snapped, keeping Darklight from bolting after the Autobot leader. "CHASING HIM DOWN AND RECKLESSLY ATTACKING WILL NOT WORK."

"**But Light…"**

"NO. WE WILL FOLLOW HIM, AND WAIT..." Darklight paused, letting his sensors range again. Then the Light half spoke again. "HE HAS A HUMAN WITH HIM."

"**A squishy? Oh, Light, lemme play with it!"** Dark pleaded. **"I'm sure I can keep this one alive longer than the last one. Can I play with it?"**

"PRIME SEEMS TO CARE ABOUT THE PUNY WRETCHES, SO PERHAPS WE CAN USE THAT TO OUR ADVANTAGE," Light said, ignoring Dark's request.

"**Ooh, yeah! We could wait 'til the squishy's just outta his reach, and tear its head off! Can we do that?"**

If Darklight could have smiled while in his motorcycle form, he would have done so. "WE SHALL SEE."

…

After Optimus picked up the hitchhiker, an awkward silence ensued. He did not even have to scan her to see she was nervous about something. "Is something bothering you, miss?" he asked, his holoform glancing in her direction.

Robin flinched. She always felt uncomfortable when someone called her "miss" or "ma'am". "Uh…you can just call me Robin," she replied. "And I'm just worried about my car…and how I'm going to pay you back."

"No payment is necessary, Robin," he said, shaking his head. "You were stranded, so I wished to help."

"_Who the hell talks like that?"_ she wondered. _"He's totally weird, but apparently, a nice guy."_ "So, you know my name now. Do you mind telling me yours?"

Optimus paused. He hadn't much need for a holoform, so he never came up with a name for one. Finally, he just picked his old name. "I am Orion."

"What, like the constellation?" Robin asked, slightly amazed. "That's pretty neat." Finally, they reached her car, and she quickly climbed out of the truck. "Well, Orion, thanks for the lift."

Optimus ran a quick scan on the car as Robin got in and attempted to start it with no success. _"Many of its parts are damaged and need to be replaced,"_ he processed. _"I will have to take her to the next town to find assistance." _He opened the door and let his holoform get out. _"As long as she does not touch me, she shouldn't discover what I truly am."_ "Could you open the hood, please?" he asked, approaching the car.

When the car refused to start, Robin fought down the urge to scream in frustration. When Orion the Good Samaritan asked her to open the hood, she fought the urge to gape at him like an idiot. "You a mechanic, too?"

He gave her small smile, and said, "Somewhat."

Shrugging, Robin popped the hood, got out of the car, and raised the hood so he could take a look. Before Orion could do more than take a cursory glance, however, a burst of searing orange light fired out of the forest, passed right over the car, and slammed into the side of his truck, where it exploded with a loud, low-pitched thump. "Oh my god, what the hell was that?" Robin shrieked as cold fear threaded its way down her spine. "Orion, are you okay?"

She turned to look at him, just in time to see him turn transparent and full of static, like a television with bad reception. Then, as she reached out to touch him, he vanished, as the roar of a motorcycle engine caught her attention. The thing that burst out of the woods, however, was most definitely not a bike. If a motorcycle could stand up and walk…and glare at you with hate-filled eyes, it would look like this. It was around twelve feet tall, vaguely humanoid, and made entirely out of metal, and it moved with a speed and grace that a cheetah would envy. Time seemed to slow down, and then stop, as the mechanical monster glowered at Orion's truck, opened its mouth, and bellowed, **"Optimus Prime!"**

* * *

Author's Note 2: Darklight's specific alt form is a Harley-Davidson VRSCD Nightrod. I found it while looking through various Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and it just jumped out at me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, even if it's a bit of a cliffhanger.


	2. Giant Droid DeathMatch

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers and never will.

Author's Note: Thank you very much to all the readers who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorites and alerts. I really appreciate it! I hope you'll like this chapter as much as the last one. Also, thanks again to Faecat, for her advice, and Shawn, for helping me create Darklight.

"_Thoughts/Processes"_

_::Internal Comms::_

* * *

Chapter 2: Giant Droid Death-Match

"_What the hell is that thing? What happened to Orion?"_ Robin thought, her heart pounding like a jackhammer in her chest as the rain continued to pour out of the sky. _"And what the hell is an 'Optimus Prime'?"_ She could not voice any of her questions, nor could she run. Her entire body was frozen with sheer terror as she stared at the strange mechanical monster that glared at her, and for some reason, Orion's truck with burning red eyes like coals from the depths of Hell. Then it _leered_ at her, and she felt her blood turn to ice as a pair of long, burning orange blades dropped out of its wrists, joining the rather large rifle mounted on its right shoulder. _"This is it…I'm going to die…that thing's going to rip me apart!"_

Before Robin or the creature could move, however, a weird mechanical grinding sound rang through the air, and Orion's truck began to…stand up? Yes, that was the best description for it. It stood up, parts shifting and changing with a slithery metallic sound, until it took on a humanoid form that towered nearly thirty feet in the air. Once it finished transforming, it shot a sidelong glance down at Robin, and in a very familiar voice, said, "Robin, get behind me."

"Orion?" Robin squeaked, before following the giant's order. _"Orion's a giant robot?"_

It…he nodded, and then flinched, as another burst of that orange light struck him in the chest, causing him to stagger backward a little bit. "NOW, NOW, OPTIMUS," Light taunted in a deep baritone that reminded Robin of Dracula, "YOU SHOULD REALLY PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS."

"**Yeah, or we're gonna offline you **_**and**_** that lil' meat-bag you're playing 'round with!"** Dark chimed in, his voice a shaky tenor that sounded like a hyena, if hyenas could talk. **"Of course, that's gonna happen anyway, 'cause I wanna hear her **_**scream**_**!"**

"It has two voices? Is it malfunctioning? Is it crazy?" Robin whispered, continuing to back away. _"Oh God, Robin, wake up! Please wake up!"_

"Not today," Orion…Optimus replied, drawing a large gun with one hand, as a blazing orange sword slid out of the wrist of the other. "You won't touch her, Darklight."

"**Ooh, you know our name?"** Dark asked, sounding flattered. **"That's great! I never thought we'd be famous enough for that."**

Optimus knew him, all right. Despite his madness, Darklight was a highly skilled assassin who would take on any target, and the fact that Megatron put up with his insanity was legendary. He was also known as a berserker, who would only back down from a fight if his "Light" persona decided it was in his best interest to do so. _"This could be bad."_ Optimus processed, before reaching out on the internal comm lines. _::Autobots…::_

"I DO NOT THINK SO," Light interrupted, raising a smaller cannon on his left shoulder and firing.

The resultant blast was bright green and spherical, and it struck Optimus in the lower torso and crawled across the rest of his body before he could deliver any message. The blast did not cause any real damage, but his internal sensors immediately indicated that all of his communication systems were offline, except for the link that let the others know their Prime was still alive. Darklight's personas laughed simultaneously, a chilling sound, and then Dark hissed, **"The great Optimus Prime callin' for help? I thought you were braver than that! No, there won't be any help for you or that little squishy, Prime."**

Light grinned, and said, "HAVE FUN, DARK."

"**Oh, I will."**

Both of Darklight's cannons retracted, and then he surged forward, wrist-blades blazing brightly and leaving small trails of steam in the air where the rain hit them. Optimus fired a couple of shots, but the crazed mech lithely darted out of the way, and then leaped skyward. Darklight let out a cackle of savage joy as one of his blades raked the Autobot leader across his chest, before quickly darting out of the bigger mech's reach. He shot forward again, as Optimus holstered his blaster and extended another wrist-blade. This time, when Darklight made another leap, Optimus lashed out with a fearsome right hook and managed to connect with the Decepticon assassin. Darklight flew backward and hit the road, leaving a long groove as his metal body dug into the pavement. He quickly got to his feet, however, shook his head, and then snarled, **"Not bad, not bad. Looks like you'll last longer than many 'Bots I've slagged."**

…

Meanwhile, Robin had finally stopped backing away, and stared in wide-eyed horror as the two mechs fought. She wanted to cry out every time the smaller one, Darklight, landed a blow, and wanted to cheer whenever Orion, or whatever he was called managed to knock the crazy one backward or evade one of its strikes. Robin did let out a yell at one point, when Darklight somehow managed to cling to Orion's back and started wildly stabbing away. "No! Stop it! Leave him alone!" she screamed, hating the feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed her.

…

Optimus let out a loud cry of pain when Darklight started stabbing him. None of the damage he received was life-threatening, yet, but could become so quickly, if he didn't get the mad Decepticon off his back. Finally, he did an earthshaking forward roll, which Darklight could only avoid by leaping away. Unfortunately, the Autobot leader's trajectory sent him crashing into Robin's car, crushing it beyond hope of repair. His momentum continued, and he managed to get back on his feet, turn around, and knock Darklight away before he could cling to him again. When the Decepticon got to his feet, however, he did not immediately launch himself at the much larger Autobot as he had been doing. _::STOP ATTACKING THE PRIME HEAD-ON, DARK,::_ Light sent, much to his other half's dismay.

_**::What?::**_ Dark shrieked. _**::But he hasn't even managed to hurt us that bad! He's too worried about accidentally slaggin' that lil' squishy meat-bag!::**_

_::EXACTLY.::_

Dark processed that, feeling their mouth-plates shift into a smile, and then said, _**::Gotcha.::**_

Darklight shared that savage smile with Optimus, and then darted forward, as if intending to strike again, but veered off at the last moment, and headed straight at Robin instead. Optimus' optics widened in horror when he realized what Darklight had planned, and shouted, "Robin, run!"

…

When Robin saw Darklight coming for her, with those red-lit eyes and blazing wrist-blades, her heart almost stopped. Time slowed down, and she only faintly heard Orion's yell for her to run, as if he had said it from some far away place.

_Tha-thump…ba-thump…_

Robin's pulse pounded loudly in her ears as her body finally started to move…

_Tha-thump…ba-thump…_

Darklight was almost on top of her, and she threw herself sideways, just as one of those hellish orange blades swept out at her…

_Tha-thump…ba-thump…_

The strike missed, although it did manage to slice Robin's shirt, and the crazed machine let out a snarl of rage as she went sprawling into the nearby ditch. She felt a small, microscopic wave of relief wash through her, but it quickly faded once she realized that Darklight was still coming for her. Downed and unable to run, the terrified woman screamed, and threw whatever came to hand, which included the cell phone that had tumbled out of her pocket when she fell, even though she knew it would not stop what was coming. "Mom…Dad…I'm sorry…" she whispered, curling into a ball and closing her eyes.

…

Optimus felt his spark contract with fear for Robin's life as he ran after Darklight. He couldn't fire on the Decepticon without hitting her, so he did the first thing that popped into his processor, and kicked the assassin. With a screech of surprise, Darklight flew several yards, tumbling head over aft before crashing facedown into the highway and leaving another long groove in the pavement. Optimus quickly drew his blaster, but before he could fire it, a blast from Darklight's shoulder-rifle sent him staggering. **"This isn't **OVER YET, **PRIME!"** the Decepticon snarled, both personas' voices merging together on the last word. Then, as he got off his hands and knees, the Light persona took control, and said, "ENJOY YOUR VICTORY WHILE YOU CAN."

Without another word, Darklight shifted into his motorcycle alt form, which looked quite battered, and zoomed away much faster than a normal bike ever could. Once the Decepticon was gone, Optimus looked down and found Robin still in the ditch, unmoving and eyes closed. He quickly ran a scan on her, and found she was alive and conscious, but with various injuries, the worst being in her left ankle. He knelt down as she slowly started sit up, and said, "Robin, can you hear me?"

Robin ignored the weird "I'm being watched" sensation that washed over her and looked up at him, wide eyes widening further as the smooth plane covering his face slipped away, revealing a more human-like one underneath. "Yeah, I can hear you," she quietly replied, torn between amazement and panic. _"At least I know why his voice sounded kind of strange…don't think too hard about it, Robin, or you'll start screaming and have a nervous breakdown,"_ her brain said, chattering as she fought to remain calm. _"Okay, sure, Orion turned out to be a giant freaking robot, but he punted that other robot, the one that was going to KILL you, like a football. So…don't freak out too much."_

Slowly, she got to her feet, wincing at all the bruises on her body that started complaining bitterly as she moved. She nearly fell again, however, when her ankle started shrieking terrible pain. Fortunately, Robin managed to latch on to the hand Optimus extended to her and catch her balance. "Dear lord, I hope I didn't break it," she whimpered, looking down at her very muddy leg.

"My sensors indicate that it is not broken," Optimus told her. "However, you will not be able to walk on it without further damage."

She looked up at him to reply, and just stared blankly, stricken dumb by his glowing blue eyes. "Wow, pretty…" she murmured, without realizing she said it aloud.

The eyes blinked, and a relatively quiet chuckle brought her back to her senses. "Thank you for the compliment," he said, his voice rich with amusement.

Robin blushed, and then winced. "I said that out loud? God, I can't believe it!" She kicked herself mentally, and then said, "So, Orion…or Prime…or whatever you're called…thanks for saving me from that…that thing."

"My name is Optimus Prime, and you are most welcome," he told her.

"It's your name?" she asked, releasing her grip on his hand and hobbling in place. _"I thought it was what he was."_ When he nodded in agreement, she said, "So, Ori…um, Optimus, is that other one going to come back?"

"Not for a while, but we should leave."

"How? My car was busted, even before you rolled over the top of it like a bulldozer."

Optimus had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry, my bad," he apologized, "but it can be replaced. A life cannot."

Robin stared at all the dents, slashes, and burns, and immediately felt bad. _"That thing really did a number on him, and he was trying to protect me,"_ she thought, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's my fault, isn't it? If you hadn't picked me up…"

"No, Robin," he told her. "Darklight would have attacked, no matter what, and if he had found you before I did…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but then, he didn't need to. Robin thought about Darklight calling her a meat-bag, and wanting to hear her scream, and shivered. "Can we please get out of here, then? I really don't want to be here if he decides to come back early."

Optimus nodded, before stepping back and changing into his semi form. She winced at all the damage visible, even in that form, but still limped forward, ignoring the pain shooting through her ankle. When she got to the nearest door, however, she paused and looked down at herself. Not only was she soaking wet from walking in the rain, she was also muddy from her time in the ditch. "I'm sorry I'm getting your interior dirty, Optimus," she said, before finally climbing into the empty cab. "But I swear I'll pay for the cleanup, just as soon as we can get back to civilization."

There was a long moment of silence, and Robin was afraid she might have offended her rescuer. Finally, his voice rang out over the radio, and he said, "Thank you."

…

Darklight fled for several miles, until he realized that Optimus was not chasing him. **"Frag it all!"** Dark bellowed, as their body shifted back into its true form. **"We almost had him **_**and**_** that meat-bag, Light, but you made us retreat? Why?"**

"IT WAS NECESSARY," Light calmly replied, before pulling out a small object jammed in their armor. "WE COULD NOT DEFEAT PRIME THEN. YOU WERE MORE CONCERNED WITH THAT FLESHLING, ANYWAY."

"**But it was your idea to attack her!"**

"NOT TO KEEP CHASING HER IF YOU MISSED, DARK."

"**I can't believe she dodged me! Me! I oughtta rip those flimsy struts right outta her body and beat her with 'em!"**

"BONES, DARK, FLESHLINGS HAVE BONES."

"**Bones?"** Dark processed that for a moment. **"Yeah, I like the sound of that! I'm gonna rip her bones out!"**

Light shuttered his optics in exasperation, before holding up the object and running a scan on it. "DARK, WOULD YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT BONES AND LOOK AT THIS?" he snapped, finally catching his other's attention.

Dark peered at it, and cocked his head in puzzlement. **"Isn't that one of those things the squishies use to communicate? A 'phone' or something? How'd we pick that up?"**

"IT WAS CAUGHT IN OUR ARMOR. THAT HUMAN THREW IT AT US WHEN SHE TRIED TO DRIVE US AWAY."

"**What're you gonna do with it? It's not on her now, so we can't use it to track her down,"** Dark said.

"NO, BUT MAYBE WE CAN LEARN WHERE SHE IS HEADED," Light replied. "IF WE FIND HER, WE MAY FIND OPTIMUS."

"**But what if we don't? What if we find her, but he's already gone?"**

"THEN YOU SHALL HAVE A NEW TOY TO PLAY WITH."


	3. Conversation, Family, and Car Washes

Author's Note: Hooray, a new chapter! Unfortunately for those of you looking for more action, this chapter is just talking, for the most part, so Darklight's not here. Needless to say, he's definitely NOT pleased with me. And no, despite what you might glean from this chapter, there is no romance. None. At all. They're just friends.

Special Thanks: Once again, many thanks to Faecat, whose conversations are always fun and inspiring. A big thank you cousin, Shawn, for helping me with Darklight. Another thank you to my brother, James, who inspired another character. (guess who) And last, but not least, my friends Andy and Ieva for putting up with me when I drift off into fic-land.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Darklight, Robin, and any other OCs you find. Transformers belongs to people a lot cooler and richer than me.

"_Thoughts/Processes"_

_::Internal Comms::_

* * *

Chapter 3: Conversation, Family, and Car Washes

The rain had finally stopped, but the sky was still cloudy as Robin and Optimus rolled down the highway. At the moment, Robin was behind the driver's seat, awkwardly pretending to drive and hoping no one pulled them over, because Optimus' holoform projector was offline until his internal repair systems could fix it. _"He said it should be working again by the time we get to town…"_ she thought. _"I hope he's right about that."_ Finally, she shook her head, and tentatively asked, "So, Optimus…did the government build you and Darklight?"

"No," he quickly replied. "We came from the planet Cybertron, and are your people's allies in the war against Decepticons like Darklight."

Robin sat in silence and pondered this for a moment, before asking, "What's a 'Skepticon'?"

…

Some time later, Optimus finished his explanation, and Robin stared blankly out the windshield, mouth agape in pure astonishment. "So the 'terrorist' attack at Mission City, the explosion at Shanghai, that creepy 'fake' broadcast, and the explosions in Egypt…they were all you guys?" she asked, unsure of what else to do or say.

"Yes," Optimus quietly replied.

She shook her head, as if to clear it, and then calmly replied, "All right."

If Optimus could show any sort of expression while in his semi form, it would be worry, because Robin's reaction was rather unusual for a civilian. "You are not surprised? Most humans would be."

"No, I'm definitely surprised, and scared, that there are monsters like Darklight running around…in fact, I'll probably have nightmares about it later, but at least there are people like you around that are trying to help us. And I know I should be pissed that the government would hide something as important as giant metal aliens living among us, but I can understand why they would. People would panic--_did_ panic when that broadcast came on and demanded that we turn over that kid." She paused, waiting to hear his response, but when none was forthcoming, she continued to speak, "Optimus, you said that your people, the Autobots, work with the government to fight the Decepticons? Doesn't the government pester you about weapons or anything like that? I'd be surprised if they didn't."

"They have asked, but we refused their request for such things," he told her, a note of sorrow evident in his voice.

"I don't blame you in the least," she sighed, shaking her head in disgust. "If you gave us advanced weapons like the ones you guys carry, the first thing we'd do is blow ourselves up with them."

"Your government doesn't seem to realize that."

"That's because the people that would be the best for the government are the last people that want to join it."

Optimus let out a sound very similar to a sigh, and said, "That is all too true."

"_Huh…they must have had the same problem on his world." _They rode in silence a while longer, and then Robin's curiosity crept up on her again. "Back there, when you fought with Darklight and he shot you with that green light, how did he know you were calling for help? I mean, I figured that you have some means of communicating with each other, but you don't all use the same channel, do you?"

"No, we do not, but some Autobots and Decepticons can sense when a communications channel has been opened. They cannot hear the message, but they can tell that one is being sent."

"Ah, I see," Robin's expression grew thoughtful. "I just thought of something else. What were you doing out here in the first place? I mean, not that I'm ungrateful or anything, it's just that nothing interesting has _ever_ happened out here…until today."

"Currently, we don't stay at one base for a long period of time," Optimus replied, sounding slightly amused at her question. "There is too much danger of a Decepticon attack, so we move before they can discover our location. Right now, we are located not far from a town called Haven."

"You mean that old army base? Man, everyone thought that place had been deserted for ages. Apparently it isn't now." She shrugged, "Well, don't worry; I'm not going to tell anyone."

Just then, they passed a road sign that read "Entering Haven: 1 Mile", and Optimus pulled over to the roadside and said, "Robin, please move over. I am going to attempt to reactivate my holoform now."

Silently, she did as he requested, and felt her eyes widen as faint blue light appeared in the driver's seat, flickered violently for a few moments, and then finally took on the form of "Orion". Unlike before, however, the holoform appeared damp, as if he had been out in the rain, but had finally started to dry off. "That's a nice touch, Optimus," Robin grinned.

The holoform smiled back. "It might appear suspicious if you claimed that I had assisted you, but I appeared unharmed, while you did not."

…

Some time later, they arrived in Haven, and after following Robin's directions, stopped at Big Bob's Car Wash. "Oh, don't worry," Robin assured Optimus, when he gave her a curious look. "My dad owns this place, so I can call him from here, and we can get you cleaned up."

He nodded in silence, and she climbed out of the cab, wincing as her ankle protested the movement. She managed to shake it off, however, and hobbled up to the office and opened the door. "Hey, Jake," Robin said, smiling sheepishly at the man's expression. "Do you mind if I use the phone?"

Jake, a thin, blond man of medium height stared at her as if she had just barked like a dog. "Sweet Jesus!" he cried, his gray eyes wide like dinner plates. "What the hell happened to you, Robin?"

"_Oh crap! Think, Robin, think!"_ "Uh…well…the car broke down, and then it started storming, and I had to dive into a ditch when a tornado touched down. I ended up twisting my ankle, and I'm dirty as all get out, but other than that, I'm fine. The car isn't, though. The tornado flipped it across the road and almost squashed me. Anyway, can I use the phone?"

Wordlessly, Jake handed her the phone, and she quickly dialed her father's cell phone number. The phone rang once, twice, and then someone finally picked up. "Jake, this had better be important," a somewhat grumpy male voice growled.

"Dad, it's me," Robin blurted quickly, before her dad could go into a tirade.

"Robin? Why are you calling from the car wash? What happened to your cell phone?" he demanded, sounding bewildered.

"I don't have my phone," she sighed, fighting the urge to cry. "I don't even have my car, or my suitcase, so could you or Mom maybe go get some clothes and please come pick me up?"

"What happened?"

"Dad, please!" Robin's voice broke, and she gulped as several tears fell. "I'll explain it all when you get here, so just hurry up, okay?"

When she finally managed to get off the phone, she limped back outside and found Optimus' holoform standing outside the truck, appearing to lean against it. "Are you all right?" he asked, looking very concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she softly replied, after she managed to calm down. "Everything that happened is just trying to catch up to me, that's all."

"Who's this?" Jake asked, startling Robin out of her impending breakdown.

"God, Jake, don't sneak up on me like that!" she hissed, turning around to glare at him.

"Sorry about that," he shrugged, before turning to give "Orion" a curious look. "Anyway, who is this?"

"Oh! Uh…this is Orion. Orion, this is Jake." Jake reached out, apparently intending to shake Optimus' hand, but Robin quickly stopped him. "Sorry, Jake, but Orion's not big on physical contact. It's kind of a phobia of his…but he saved my life, and he's a really nice guy."

Jake withdrew his hand and warily eyed all of the damage on Optimus' semi form, before replying, "You saved Robin, huh? Is that what happened to your truck?"

"Yes," Optimus calmly replied. "She was stranded and her car was destroyed, so I assisted her."

"Yeah," Robin nervously chimed in. "He helped me out, but I got his interior dirty, so I want to have him--his truck cleaned while we're here."

Jake looked up at the truck, then back at Robin and Optimus. "Never really washed anything that big before, but it shouldn't be a problem. I suggest you wait until your old man gets here, though."

"I planned on that," Robin replied, rolling her eyes as she gingerly lowered herself to the pavement and sat down, more than ready to take some weight off her ankle.

"You sure you want to sit out here?" Jake asked, concern clearly evident in his tone. "We do have chairs in the office, you know."

"_Yeah, but I'm not sure how far Optimus' holoform can project, either."_ "I know, Jake, but I'm already wet and dirty, so there's no point in me tracking it all over the place, is there?"

He raised his hands in surrender and backed away a step. "All right. In the meantime, I'll go let Debbie and Vince know that we've got a customer."

With that, he left, and Robin turned to look at Optimus. "Sorry about that, but it'd be pretty awkward if someone tried to shake your hand, only for theirs to go through you. And I hope you don't mind me calling you Orion. It's a more believable human name than 'Optimus Prime', anyway."

…

A few minutes later, Robin fought the urge to smack her forehead and groan as an old, dusty black Ford pickup truck pulled into the parking lot. "I see he's still driving the Refugee," she sighed to Optimus as the truck came to a stop.

"The Refugee?"

"Yeah. It's some truck from the seventies that my dad rescued from the junkyard and fixed up. He can easily afford something newer, but he has a habit of buying broken stuff and attempting to fix it." She chuckled, and then added, "Mom swears up and down that he'll blow himself up one of these days, but it hasn't happened yet."

Before Optimus could reply, Robin's parents got out of the truck and immediately rushed over. "Oh my god, Robin, what happened?" her mom, a short blonde woman with a usually cheerful face, cried. "Are you all right? Where's your car? Why are you sitting on the ground?"

"Mom, please!" Robin groaned, cutting off her flood of questions. "I'm all right. I was caught in that storm earlier, and had to dive into a ditch before a tornado flipped the car around. I'm dirty and banged up, and I sprained my ankle, but other than that, I'm okay."

Her dad, a beefy, imposing man with dark hair and a mustache, reached down and helped her to her feet, and hugged her tightly, despite her state of grubbiness. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Then he released her, and glared at "Orion". Optimus, who had been watching the reunion in silence, was confused by the man's sudden belligerence. "Is something wrong?" he asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Who are you, some kind of weird pervert?" her dad snapped, continuing to glower.

"Dad!" Robin screeched, aghast at her father's behavior. "Orion is _not_ a weird pervert! I can't even believe you would say something like that to the guy who saved my life!"

"Bob…" her mother cut in, shooting her husband a look of disgust, "if Robin was dating some trucker twice her age, don't you think she'd have told us about it before now?" Then she looked up at the truck, and added, "Why did he paint flames on such a piece of crap?"

Robin buried her face in her palm, fighting the urge to burst into tears again, or scream, or flee for her sanity. _"This is why I don't visit home more often!"_ she thought, sighing in exasperation. Then she looked up at her parents, and in calm voice that was quite obviously forced, said, "Mom, I am _not_ dating Orion. Dad, Orion hasn't laid a hand on me. Orion has a bit of a phobia about physical contact, so he _wouldn't_ lay a hand on me. He's a nice guy who helped me out when he could have just left me stranded on the side of the road…and his truck is not a piece of crap! He got banged up in the storm, too!"

"If that's storm damage, then I'm the Queen of Sheba," her dad flatly stated. "It looks like he rode through a war zone in that thing! And just how did you find out that he doesn't like people touching him?"

"We didn't ride the whole way here in silence, you know! People do talk to each other without anything dirty involved!" Robin snapped. Her father still looked suspicious, and she finally sighed, "Believe what you want, Dad, but Orion's not a bad guy." Then she turned to "Orion" and said, "I'm really sorry about this." _"My parents have absolutely no tact! God only knows what they'd say if they knew he's a giant alien! Hell, they'd probably still think I was dating him, knowing them."_

Optimus smiled. "No need to apologize. Your parents simply wish to protect you…a most commendable trait."

"Yeah, they're pretty good at that," Robin replied, returning the smile. "Anyway, Orion, these are my parents, Bob and Mary."

"I am honored to meet you both," Optimus told them, inclining his head in acknowledgement.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Mary answered cheerfully. "You're so polite…it's like meeting a foreign dignitary or something."

At that, Robin choked, and started coughing violently. "Hey, are you okay?" Bob asked, patting his daughter on the back.

"Yeah…I'm fine," she wheezed, her sides hurting from holding in hysterical laughter. _"Mom has _no_ idea how true that is!"_

Once Robin quit coughing, Bob turned back to Optimus, and said, "It's nice to meet you, too, and I appreciate you helping Robin out."

"So, anyway, I told Jake that I'm buying Orion a car wash and interior detail, and he went to tell Vince and Debbie…so maybe we should all head that way now?" Robin suggested.

Bob looked at her, and then at Optimus. He stared thoughtfully at the Autobot leader's holoform for a moment, and then said, "I'll tell you what; since you were nice enough to help out my daughter, I'll let you have the wash on the house." He noticed Optimus' slightly puzzled expression, and then added, "You know, for free?"

"Ah, yes," Optimus replied, storing the phrase in his memory banks. "Thank you."

…

Despite her parents' protests, Robin insisted on helping clean Optimus, even with her sprained ankle. The argument might have gone on longer, if she hadn't relented and agreed to just the interior cleaning. The wash went well, although Debbie and Vince would exchange curious glances every so often as the semi shifted slightly, almost as if enjoying the attention. At the same time, Bob and Mary had noticed that "Orion" seemed rather nervous, and flinched occasionally as he watched his truck being cleaned. "What are you so nervous for, Orion?" Mary asked kindly. "They know what they're doing, I promise."

"Besides, it's not like they'd hurt that hunk of crap any more than it already is," Bob added with a smirk.

"Bob! That was completely uncalled for!" Mary snapped, frowning at her husband.

"I tell it like it is," he replied with a shrug.

Robin had noticed Optimus' slight movements throughout the washing, but had largely ignored them. "Maybe he's just ticklish," she muttered to herself as she climbed in his cab with the vacuum cleaner. "That's if an alien robot can even actually be ticklish."

Shrugging, she turned on the vacuum cleaner and started to work, and was completely caught off-guard when Optimus shook with a violent flinch. "What the hell was that?" Debbie called from outside. "Robin, are you okay?"

"I don't know what that was, but I'm fine," she called back, poking her head out the window to look at everyone. Everyone, with the exception of "Orion", looked rather disturbed. The holoform, meanwhile, looked distinctly uncomfortable, as if caught doing something he wished no one had seen. _"Okay…does that flinch mean that he liked this, or what?"_ Robin pondered, before going back to work. She continued for a while longer, but then another thought hit her. _"Oh God! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! I refuse to think about a car wash being the giant robot equivalent of a lap-dance! Nope, not thinking about it, _at all_!"_

She went through the rest of the cleaning rather quickly, resolutely ignoring the occasional smaller twitches, and finally emerged from the cab blushing like the setting sun. "Okay, all done," she said, her voice squeaking slightly.

"Ah…thank you," Optimus lamely replied, looking as embarrassed as she felt. _"You are a grown mech and a Prime!"_ he silently rebuked, feeling his cooling fans run in the Cybertronian equivalent of a blush. _"You should have more self-control than that, for Primus' sake!"_

"Hey, are you okay?" Robin suddenly asked him, snapping him out of his processes. When he looked at her and nodded, she continued to speak. "Well…I guess this is where we part ways, huh?"

"It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Robin," he replied, smiling broadly.

"_Bad choice of words there, Optimus,"_ she thought, wincing slightly before returning the smile. "Same here. I know I'll never forget you, and um…if you ever decide you'd like to talk to me again…I left you my email address in the truck."

"I would like that very much."

Robin's smile grew even brighter, and she had to resist the urge to hug his holoform. Finally, she managed to fight the impulse, and backed away as the holoform climbed into the truck. "Goodbye, Orion…and thank you."

…

After Optimus left, her parents were also ready to leave, so Robin haphazardly climbed into the back of the Refugee. While she was climbing, she notice the small, bright azure blue motorcycle resting in the bed, looking like it might fall apart, if handled violently. "Mom, why is there a tiny clown-bike in the back of the truck?" she asked, eyeing the little machine with distaste.

"Oh, that? Your father bought it at a yard sale this morning," Mary blithely replied as she opened the passenger door. "You know how he is with fixing things."

"Yeah, that's why he's still driving this ancient rust-bucket instead of something newer," Robin sighed, sitting down and hissing as her ankle twinged yet again.

"Hey, I'm allowed to have a hobby!" Bob said defensively. "Just you wait, Robin, I'll have that little bike up and running in no time."

"_But who the hell's going to ride it?"_ she wondered, shaking her head in disgust.

The three of them left the car wash, and Robin scooted around the bed of the Refugee until she found a more comfortable position, and leaned against the back window. She closed her eyes and felt herself start to doze off, when a male voice that most certainly did not belong to her father said, "Hey, you know that big truck you were hanging out with wasn't really a truck, right?"

Her eyes popped open and she looked around, frantically searching for the source of the voice. "Oh god…I'm going crazy, aren't I?" she whimpered. "I've had too much stress today, and now I've gone bonkers!"

"Nah…you're not crazy," the voice answered, sounding very amused. "Give it some time, though, and that might change."

"Oh, I'm not going loony? Then where the hell is the disembodied voice coming from, wise guy? Last time I checked, Dad's truck wasn't an alien robot!"

"Hey, you know about us? I didn't think the big flame guy spilled his secret like that!" A pregnant silence ensued, filled only by the tension in the air and the wind that whipped by. "And no, I'm not your dad's truck…I'm the 'tiny clown-bike' sitting next to you."


	4. More Robots?

Author's Note: First of all, since Clifjumpersfangirl was the first one to guess the character my brother inspired, she wins a cookie! -hands over a cookie- Second, many thanks to everyone who reviews/favorites/subscribes to this story. You're all awesome!

Special Thanks: Special thanks, as always, go to Faecat, for encouraging me; Shawn, for helping with Darklight; James, for inspiring the "tiny clown-bike"; and my friends for putting up with this obsession of mine.

Art Request: I'm no good at drawing mecha, so if anyone out there would like to draw Darklight or the clown-bike, send me a link, because I'd really like to see it. Also, after discussing it with Gixxer Pilot, we decided that it would be awesome if someone drew ROTF's Jetfire dressed like a Southern Baptist Preacher, pounding on a pulpit while waving his Bible and screaming Hallelujah, while a choir sings in the background. If anyone draws any of those, send me a link, and I'll post it in my profile.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.

"_Thoughts/Processes"_

_::Internal Comms::_

* * *

Chapter Four: More Robots?

Robin stared at the mini-bike, her eyes wide and her expression one of horror. _"Oh no, not another one!"_ she thought, slowly scooting away from the alien vehicle. _"Okay, Robin, stay calm. You don't know whether he's friend or foe yet, and you promised Optimus that you wouldn't say anything about his kind around other civilians, so you can't alert Mom and Dad."_ Suddenly, she felt her hand brush up against the L-shaped tire iron her Dad kept in the back, and she quickly grabbed it, and raised it in a threatening manner. "All right, you little bastard," she hissed, keeping her voice low to avoid alerting her parents. "Autobot or Skepticon? Crap, that's not right…I meant Decepticon! And you'd better not try anything funny, or I'll jab this right through your engine. _"I don't know if that's fatal for you, but I'll take that chance."_

"Hey, hold on a minute!" the little bike protested, surprise and a bit of fear in his voice. "What the Pit, lady! I'm not one of those loony Decepticons…but I ain't with those crazy Autobots, either. Now put that fragging thing down before you hurt somebody!"

"You really expect me to believe that?" Robin demanded, not moving an inch. "Tell me what side you're on."

After a long silence, the mini-bike let out a mechanical sigh and said, "I'm not on a side. I'm a Neutral. There, you happy now?"

Robin blinked, surprised at the little mech's answer, and lowered her makeshift weapon, although she didn't release her grip on it. "A Neutral? Optimus never said anything about a neutral faction."

"He wouldn't. A lot of 'bots on both sides don't like us, because we refused to take sides in that stupid war. Pit, there aren't that many of us left, because the Decepticons offline any Neutral they find that won't join their cause. They think we're cowards."

"Is that why you don't fight?" Robin asked, still carefully watching the bike.

"What, because I'm afraid? Nah, I don't fight because it's a waste of time…and WAY too much effort on my part."

"Wait…" Robin said, as a mixture of disgust and amusement washed over her. "You refuse to fight, not because you're afraid, but because you're a lazy bastard?" She started giggling, and then howling with laughter. "Oh…my…god!"

"Hey, I'm not lazy!" the bike protested. "I just like saving my energy for more important things!"

"Like what?" she cackled, unable to control her laughter. "Pretending to be a little clown-bike?"

"It beats having my head shot off by some moron with more armor than processing power."

"All right, all right…I believe you…lazy," Robin snickered, finally managing to calm down.

"Hey! I do have a name, lady! And it's not Lazy!" the bike snapped, clearly irritated at her amusement, although he was relieved that she finally let go of the tire iron.

"Oh, and what would that be? Rusty?"

"It's Tenebrous," he flatly replied, apparently expecting her to laugh again.

Robin didn't laugh, however. Instead, she gave him a thoughtful look, and said, "I think I'll call you 'Ten', for short."

"Ten, huh? I guess it's better than Rusty or Lazy. What about you? You got a name?"

"Yeah, and it's not 'lady', either," she said, shooting the mini-bike a dirty look. "It's Robin."

"Like a bird? There's no way I'm calling you that! I hate those horrible things! Do you know what kind of damage their crap does to paint? No, I'm calling you 'Sis' from now on."

"Why Sis?" Robin asked, bewildered by Ten's sudden rant.

"Well, that guy that bought me, he's your mech creator…your dad, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "Then I get to call you Sis, instead of that stupid bird-name."

Before Robin could reply, the Refugee pulled to a stop at the doctor's office instead of her parents' house. "Why are we here?" she wondered aloud. Then the throbbing in her ankle returned, answering her question. "Oh yeah, that's right."

Both her parents climbed out of the truck and gave their daughter a curious look. "Who were you talking to back here?" Mary asked.

"And what was so funny?" Bob added. "You were cackling like a crazy person back here."

"Oh, uh, well…" Robin scratched the back of her head and blushed. "I was just remembering a funny video I saw on YouTube, that's all."

Their expressions clearly said that they did not believe her, but they decided not to press the issue. "Well, come on," Bob finally said, opening the tailgate so Robin could slide out of the truck. "I called Doctor Washington, and he agreed to take a look at your ankle before he closes up for the day."

…

Some time later, the Refugee finally arrived at home, and Robin was more than grateful to finally be somewhere where she could get cleaned up and lie down for a while. "Robin, I want you to stay here and get some rest, okay?" her mom said gently.

Robin nodded once, watching her dad haul Ten out of the back of the truck and drag him into the garage. "Hey, I'm all for resting, but what are you two going to do? You aren't coming inside?"

Mary shook her head. "Your father wants to go find what's left of your car, and see if it can be salvaged."

"_I don't really think it can be fixed, after having a thirty-foot alien robot roll over the top of it,"_ Robin thought, fighting down a groan. "That's Dad…always trying to fix things.

She smiled, gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, and hobbled into the house, grateful for the ankle brace the doctor had given her. Once inside, she took a long, hot bath, and then changed into the pair of loose grey sweatpants and baggy lavender t-shirt she had found, apparently accidentally left behind from her last home visit. Happy to be clean, Robin limped back into the living room and sprawled out on the couch, eager to get off her feet. She lay there for a few minutes, starting to doze off, when she suddenly bolted upright, and hissed, "Holy crap, I forgot about Ten!"

She quickly stood up, checked to see if her parents were still home, which they weren't, and hobbled into the garage, where Tenebrous lay silent. "Hey, you still in there?" she asked, eyeing the mini-bike warily.

"No, Sis, I went off chasing rainbows," Ten irritably snapped. "Where else would I be?"

"Hey, don't bite my head off. It's not my fault you ended up in a yard sale, Ten," Robin retorted. Then she paused, gave the mech a slightly baffled look, and said, "What were you doing in a yard sale, anyway?"

"Eh, you humans keep thinking I'm broken or something, so you try to fix me, and when that doesn't work, you sell me…although I think that last guy sold me because I scared him."

"I know I'm probably going to regret asking this, but what did you do?" Robin sighed disgustedly.

"The guy tried to ride me," Ten replied, his voice full of revulsion.

"Ride you? But you're a little motorcycle."

"Exactly! That fat-aft had to be at least twice your size, and he would've squashed me flat, so I yelled at him and pretended to be possessed, so he sold me." Robin couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of some big guy trying to sit on Tenebrous, much to the little mech's disgust. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Sis! Anyway, that's how I ended up here."

"All right, but let me ask you this: you're supposed to be hiding out here on Earth, and staying out of the war, right? Why don't you just behave like a regular bike, then, instead of pretending to be broken? It wouldn't be as boring as sitting in a garage all day."

"Yeah, but then I'd have to waste all that time with some loser on my back. No, thank you. I'd rather sit in the garage. Besides, I'm not bored in here."

"Oh really?" Robin smirked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you do? Sleep all the time? Do you guys even sleep?"

If it was possible for a tiny motorcycle to look confused, Ten would have looked completely baffled. "Sleep? Uh…we go into a recharge state sometimes, so I guess you could say we do. Speaking of which, you probably should go do that soon. You look like you need it."

Robin yawned involuntarily, and then replied, "I plan on it, but you still haven't told me what you do all day."

"I play online games. There's nothing funnier than watching humans throw a fit when they get their afts kicked on the internet."

Robin cracked up at that, and said, "Yeah, that's true. Anyway, if you're going to stay here and keep pretending to be broken, let me warn you: my dad doesn't give up easily, so don't get mad, or do anything crazy when he starts poking around. I'm sure I can get in touch with the Autobots, if I have to, and let them know if you start misbehaving."

Tenebrous shuddered. "Whatever you say, Sis…just keep those psychos away from me. I don't want anything to do with their fighting."

Robin smiled, but said nothing, choosing to return to the living room instead. She turned on the television, but left the volume down as she sprawled out on the couch and almost immediately dozed off, overcome by exhaustion from the day's events. _"I wonder how Orion is doing?"_ she pondered, not realizing that she called him by his alias as sleep arose to claim her.

…

Optimus made it back to the base without any further distractions, although he noticed several of the human soldiers giving him odd looks when they saw the state of his alt form. "Boy, Ratchet's going to tear him a new one when he sees that," one of them muttered, apparently forgetting the acuity of Cybertronian audio receptors.

Choosing not to respond to the soldier's comment, the Autobot leader entered the main hangar, where he found Ratchet and Ironhide waiting for him, along with Major William Lennox and Master Sergeant Robert Epps. "What in the world happened to you?" Lennox demanded, staring at all the damage as Optimus shifted out of his alt mode.

"And why do you look so clean?" Epps added. "Usually, you guys come back from a fight looking like you rolled in the dirt."

Lennox turned and fixed his partner with a look that clearly said, "What does that have to do with anything," although he said nothing aloud.

"Yes, please answer both of those questions," Ratchet said, optics narrowing as he took inventory of the damage Optimus had sustained. "And while you're at it, perhaps you would care to explain why your communication systems are all offline."

The Chief Medical Officer was definitely not pleased. Neither was Ironhide, although he chose to remain silent about it. Optimus shuttered his optics, ran a hand over his faceplates, and said, "I was attacked by a lone Decepticon while transporting a stranded human. He jammed all of my communications systems when we fought, so I was unable to call for backup. I defeated him, but he fled before I could finish him off."

"I take it the human saw you?" Ironhide asked, finally deciding to speak. "Where are they now?"

"Yes, she witnessed the battle," Optimus calmly replied. "It could not be helped. Afterward, I took her to the nearby town, and stayed with her until her parents picked her up." He paused a moment to let out a mechanical sounding sigh, and then added, "Her father called me a…'weird pervert'."

At that, both Lennox and Epps snickered, but said nothing. Meanwhile, Ratchet raised an optic ridge in surprise, and said, "He thought you wanted to behave in a sexually deviant manner with his daughter? What did you say?"

"Nothing. She assured him that I was not a pervert, and that I had saved her life…and that she wished to repay me."

The hangar suddenly turned silent enough to hear a pin drop. "Repay you…how?" Ironhide finally asked.

Optimus' cooling fans clicked on again, and he suddenly grew quite fascinated with the wall on the other side of the hangar. "With a car wash," he finally said, not looking at either Autobot.

The silence returned, punctuated only by Optimus' still-whirring cooling fans. Ratchet smacked his faceplates against his palm and grumbled something in Cybertronian, before looking up to fix his Prime with a baleful glare. "You were attacked by a Decepticon…" the medic growled, his optics flashing angrily, "…and you stopped for a car wash?"

"She was trying to show her appreciation," Optimus protested, somewhat taken aback by the other mech's vehemence.

"Oh, I'll bet," Ironhide commented, chuckling loudly.

Meanwhile, Lennox and Epps watched the scene unfolding before them with some amusement and no little bewilderment. The way Ratchet was behaving, it made car washes sound…dirty. Epps scratched his head in confusion, and asked, "Are they talking about--"

"I don't even want to think about it," Will snapped, before his comrade could finish his question.

The two men stood in silence a moment longer, as some of the other Autobots entered the hangar, attracted by the sounds of the angry Ratchet. "So, a car wash…" Epps began, shooting Lennox a sidelong glance, "wouldn't that be like--"

"NO!" the other man cried, shaking his head and shuddering.

"Hey, I guess the 'Bots need love, too." Will smacked his forehead and groaned, but did not reply, so Epps asked, "So…you ever take 'Hide to the car wash?"

"No, but Sarah has, and…" Lennox's expression went from one of annoyance to one of horror, and he whispered, "oh god."

Epps chuckled, and said, "I thought he looked extra shiny…and…happy."

"GAAAAAH!"

The sound of Lennox's scream caught everyone's attention, and they quickly turned around and stared at him. "What are you screaming about?" Ironhide asked, staring down at his human partner with some puzzlement.

"YOU!" Will bellowed, pointing up at the weapons specialist with an accusatory finger.

Epps burst into laughter for a moment, but managed to regain his composure long enough to say, "Been looking pretty good there, 'Hide."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ironhide…" Lennox began, his calm voice and expression clearly forced, "please tell me that Annabelle has not ridden with you on a wash day."

"Where else would she be?" the black mech answered.

Will paled, but said nothing. A few moments passed, and still, the Major said nothing, continuing to stare blankly ahead. Finally, Epps reached out and waved his hand in front of his friend's face, but there was no response, except for a single twitch. "Damn, 'Hide!" the Master Sergeant exclaimed as he withdrew his hand. "I think you broke Will!"

"Broke? How can a human 'break'?" Ironhide demanded, although a hint of worry colored his gruff tone. "I didn't even touch him."

"You broke his brain, man!" Epps laughed, unable to help himself.

Ironhide's optics widened, and he said, "That can happen with humans, too? Ratchet will not be pleased."

"No…no, I'm not," Ratchet hissed, his expression clearly promising dire, and possibly wrench-related, things in Ironhide's future. Then the medic turned his attention to Lennox and scanned him. "It seems there is nothing physically wrong with him."

"Just give him a few minutes to recover," Epps sagely replied. "He did the same thing when he first found out that Sarah was pregnant with Annabelle."

"Hey! How come we don't get to go to no car washes?" Skids demanded, envy quite clear in his voice.

"No one wanna see yo' ugly face no way!" Mudflap retorted, shoving his brother.

"We twins, stupid! That means you ugly, too!" the green mech yelled, punching his red twin.

That, of course, led to the two of them brawling, which then led to Ironhide picking them both up, slamming them together, and dragging them out of the hangar, swearing loudly and threatening to offline them both. Meanwhile, Sideswipe shot Optimus a cheeky grin, and said, "So…did you enjoy yourself at the car wash?"

Optimus glared at the silver mech, but before he could reply, Ratchet snarled, "Sideswipe, I would suggest that you mind your own business, unless you'd like to come out of your next recharge painted pink and welded to the ceiling by your aft."

Sideswipe's optics widened, and when he saw the severity in the medic's expression, and said, "Right…I just remembered that there's something I need to do…on the other side of the base, and not here…bye."

The silver mech then transformed into his Corvette Stingray alt mode and took off as fast as possible, swerving around Ironhide as he reentered the hangar. "What's with him?" the weapons specialist asked, mildly curious about Sideswipe's sudden departure.

Before anyone could answer his question, Lennox finally snapped out of his stupor and, much to Epps' amusement, turned to Ironhide and yelled, "Sarah's never taking you to the car wash again!"

…

It was pitch-black outside, with only the occasional streetlight to alleviate the murky darkness that shrouded the houses in the neighborhood, and that suited Darklight just fine. **"So this is where the Prime's meat-bag lives, Light?"** Dark asked, as they quietly shifted out of their alt mode. **"Looks like a total dump, if you ask me."**

"NO ONE ASKED YOU, DARK," Light replied, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THE HOUSE LOOKS LIKE, WE ARE HERE FOR THE HUMAN, NOT TO PURCHASE THE BUILDING."

"**All right, whatever,"** Dark grumbled, approaching the front door. **"You better start prayin' to whatever it is you bugs pray to, lil' squishy, 'cause I've come for you."**

…

Robin awoke with a jolt, heart pounding and sweating profusely. It was the second time she had awakened since her parents returned home several hours ago, and the second time she had endured a nightmare. She could not remember either one of them, only that something was coming for her, and that there was nothing she could do to stop it, because there was no alien robot to step in and rescue her this time. Grumbling unintelligibly, she got to her feet and shuffled into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Once she finished that, she opened the door leading from the kitchen to the garage to check on Tenebrous, and smiled to herself when she saw the little bike was still where her father had set him. _"I'll have to ask him if he'll show me what he really looks like before I leave,"_ she thought, closing the door and turning to head back to the living room.

Before she could take a step, however, a thunderous boom rocked the house, and Robin could see dust, bricks, and bits of debris flying past the kitchen door as the living room seemed to explode. "What the slag was that?" she heard Ten yell from inside the garage.

Just as Robin was about to ask that very same question, she heard the heavy thud of footsteps…first one, and then another, as something large entered what was left of the living room. Creeping closer, she peered through the door, and immediately felt her heart drop into her stomach as she recognized the thing that had kicked down the front wall of the house and now crouched before her. _"Oh no, oh no, oh NO!"_ her brain screamed, running in tiny circles out of sheer panic. _"He can't be here, how'd he get here? Oh my god, it's Darklight!"_

"**Rooooooooobiiiiiiiin…."** Dark crooned in a creepy, wheedling voice, drawing out her name like a flavor he really enjoyed. **"Where are you? Why don't you come out where we can see you?"**

That voice made her blood turn to ice and her knees turn to jelly. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe…all that existed was the terror that held her rooted to the spot. "COME ON OUT, FLESHLING," Light added, his voice flat and expressionless. "WE ARE GOING TO FIND YOU, NO MATTER WHAT, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL SAVE US THE TROUBLE OF CHASING YOU."

Just then, Robin heard the door to her parents' room fly open, and her dad yelled, "What the hell is going on?" There was a pause, and apparently, Bob had seen Darklight, because he said, "Holy Christ, what the fuck is that?"

"Mom! Dad! Get away from it!" Robin screamed, the sound clawing its way out of her throat. "It's an Optimus Prime!" She paused as Darklight turned and gave her a look of pure disgust, and then she shouted, "No! It's a Skepticon…I mean, a Decepticon!"

Instead of fleeing, however, her father must have retrieved his hunting rifle, because the sound of it firing was insanely loud in the ruins of the house. The bullet hit Darklight, and the mad mech let out a cry in an odd electronic-sounding language Robin guessed was Cybertronian. Before another shot could be fired, the Decepticon reached out, grabbed Bob, and dragged him close. **"You slaggin' glitch!"** Dark roared, his eyes blazing with mad fury. **"How **_**dare**_** you!"**

Before Robin could make a sound, Darklight extended one of his glowing wrist-blades, and stabbed her father through the stomach. Bob let out a terrible cry of agony that tore into Robin's soul, only for the sound to suddenly stop when Darklight twisted the blade. Involuntarily, she started to run toward her father when the Decepticon threw his body into the far wall, but something tugging on her shirt stopped her. She whipped around to see a spindly robot, around four feet in height, clinging to her clothes. "What the…" she started to scream, but stopped, once she realized who the little mech was. "Ten, stop! Let me go! I have to go help my dad!"

"He's already offline--dead, Sis!" Ten replied, his sun-yellow eyes bright with fear. "You can't help him!"

"You do something, then!" she screamed, picking up the mech and throwing him at Darklight.

Tenebrous crashed into the Decepticon, and then fell to the floor with a loud crash! "What the frag, Sis!" he yelled, dodging one of Darklight's wrist-blades. "I thought I already told you that I don't fight!"

"Now's a good time to learn!" she shouted back.

Ten ducked another slash, and then raised his right arm, which had changed into a machine gun, and started firing at his much larger enemy. "LITTLE PEST," Light hissed, shrinking away slightly, before backhanding the little mech.

Tenebrous slammed into the wall, then slumped to the floor and did not get up. Robin used the distraction to bolt into her parents' bedroom, where she found her mother sitting on the floor by the window, weeping hysterically. "Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Mary wailed, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom, come on!" Robin cried, shaking her mother in exasperation. Mary stopped crying, and Robin quickly jumped up and opened the window. "We have to get out of here!" _"The woods are just across the backyard…if we can get to them, maybe we can…"_

Before she could finish that train of thought, Darklight smashed through the bedroom doorway and grabbed Mary. **"I've had enough of this slag,"** Dark snarled, as the sounds of police sirens began wailing outside. **"You're comin' with me, or else I'm gonna offline this little meat-bag."**

"I WOULD LISTEN TO HIM, IF I WERE YOU," Light reasonably replied. "DARK IS RATHER ANNOYED AT THE MOMENT, AND WILL NOT HESITATE TO KILL YOUR MOTHER. IF YOU COME WITH US QUIETLY, WE SHALL LET HER LIVE."

The mad Decepticon raised his wrist-blade, and Robin gulped at the terror in her mom's expression, clearly visible in the burning orange light of the sword. "All right," she said, stepping forward and raising her hands in surrender. "Please don't hurt her. Just let her go."

"VERY WISE OF YOU," Light commended, releasing his hold on Mary and shoving her forward roughly. Then he reached out and grabbed Robin, metallic fingers digging into her flesh with bruising force. Once he had her, the rifle on his shoulder flipped around, tearing a gash in the ceiling as it went, pointed at Mary, and fired. "NO!" Robin screamed, horror and grief ripping into her like thousands of rusty knives as the resulting explosion of light blasted her mother. "You said you would let her live, you bastard!"

"**We did say that, didn't we?"**

"YES, YES WE DID," Light replied, a cruel grin spreading across his faceplates. "BUT WE DID NOT SAY FOR HOW LONG."

Robin shrieked and struggled ferociously as Darklight dragged her out of the room. The crazed mech stopped, however, when he spotted Tenebrous standing before him, gun-arm raised. "Let her go!" the smaller mech yelled, as the sirens drew closer.

"**Heh…I know what you are,"** Dark laughed contemptuously. **"You're one of those wimpy Neutrals that refused to fight, aren't you? Well, lil' coward, I've got a job for you."**

"I'm NOT a coward!" Ten bellowed, firing his gun at the bigger mech's head.

Darklight growled in annoyance and slapped the little Neutral to the floor with his empty hand. Then, as Tenebrous turned over onto his back, the Decepticon planted his foot on him to keep him from getting up. **"I don't care about what you think you aren't! I said I've got a job for you, and you'll do it, or I'm gonna rip you apart and let this squishy wretch see what's in store for her."** Instead of waiting for an answer, he reached down, grabbed Tenebrous' right arm, and slowly ripped it off.

"Stop hurting him! He can't even fight back!" Robin cried, weeping harder as Ten's metallic-sounding scream shrilled through the air.

"**I know,"** Dark cackled, relishing her despair. **"Isn't it great?"**

"DARK, STOP PLAYING AROUND," Light said, taking over again. He dropped Tenebrous' arm, and glared down at the little mech. "LISTEN TO ME VERY CAREFULLY, LITTLE COWARD. I WANT YOU TO GO FIND THE PRIME, AND INFORM HIM THAT WE HAVE HIS FLESHLING, AND THAT SHE SHALL BE DARK'S NEW TOY. IF HE CAN FIND HER BEFORE SHE BREAKS, HE CAN HAVE HER BACK. IF NOT, HE CAN HAVE WHAT IS LEFT OF HER WHEN THE REST OF THE HUMANS FIND HER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Tenebrous looked over at Robin and saw the stark fear in her expression. "All right! I'll do it!"

"GOOD," Light let him up, and he quickly snatched up his arm and scooted backward. "THE LAST HUMAN DARK PLAYED WITH LASTED THREE DAYS. DARK WANTS TO SEE IF HE CAN BREAK THAT RECORD WITH THIS ONE. STILL, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU HURRY."

Tenebrous bolted out of the gaping hole in the front of the house, ducking into the shadows just as a couple of police cars arrived. _"Sis, please hang on!"_ he begged, running even as his sensors all screamed in pain. _"I'll go find the big flame guy, I swear! I won't let that psychotic fragger offline you!"_

Robin kept struggling, even as Darklight tucked her under his arm, until they reached the laundry room and the back door. Without a word, the Decepticon kicked the wall, sending it exploding outward, just as he had done with the front door. By the time the police had entered the house, guns drawn, Darklight was already halfway to the woods behind the house. Once they had entered the forest, the officers had made it to the back yard, and she could hear them shouting for him to stop, and to come out with both hands up. "No…please…" she whimpered, as Darklight turned around and aimed his rifle at the officers. "You have what you came for, so leave them alone."

The crazed mech said nothing, but when the officers let out various exclamations of surprise, and started speaking of demons, Robin knew they must have seen his hellish crimson eyes. He laughed quietly, retracted his rifle, and turned once again, this time running through the woods, with Robin as his captive. _"It's a trap, it has to be,"_ she thought, no longer bothering to struggle. _"He's going to kill me, no matter what, and if Optimus comes looking for me, he'll walk right into it. Oh god…Orion…I'm scared!"_

_

* * *

_

Author's Note 2: If anyone out there was a big fan of Robin's parents, please don't hate me. -ducks behind a concrete wall- Seriously! I really didn't want to kill them, but my DARK muse was having none of that. So...sorry about that. Also, Faecat gets credit for naming Tenebrous.


	5. Pain and Panic

Author's Note: Well...so far, no one's thrown a major fit about me killing Robin's parents, so I'm happy about that. Thanks for that, and for all of the reviews/favorites/alerts! I apologize in advance if any of the canon characters are OOC. It's completely unintentional, but some of them are just plain hard to write. Also, I warn you in advance that this chapter is rather dark and depressing at parts, but this IS a Drama fic, so it can't be helped...besides, Darklight's just plain creepy and makes things dark and depressing just by being in the room. -dodges energon blade-

Special Thanks: As always, many thanks to Faecat, for being so helpful, and for providing many amusing distractions. Also, thanks to Shawn and James for helping with Darklight and Tenebrous, and thanks to my friends who deal with my reborn obsession with Transformers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, or the clips that Bumblebee uses to communicate. So don't sue me, because you will get absolutely nothing out of it. I don't even own the computer I use to write this story.

"_Thoughts/Processes"  
__::Internal Comms::  
__(Bumblebee's Radio)_

* * *

Chapter 5: Pain and Panic

Robin had no idea how long Darklight had carried her through the woods. All she felt was pain, both physical and emotional. _"Dead. Dead. Mom and Dad are both dead, and now I'm going to die, too,"_ her brain repeated endlessly, killing any other rational thoughts that tried to slip in to distract her from her despair.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of traveling at a bone-jarring run, Darklight stopped and released her, letting her crash to the floor of a burned-out building in a heap. The impact cleared Robin's muddled thoughts, and she rolled over onto her back and opened her mouth to deliver a scathing tirade, but it turned into a small squeak of fear as the Decepticon grabbed her right leg. **"Left leg's busted, huh?"** Dark said, favoring his new "toy" and her ankle brace with a vicious grin. **"No problem, we'll just balance you out a bit."**

Before Robin could even think to panic, Darklight squeezed her shin, hard, and she let out a gut-wrenching scream of agony as both bones in her lower leg gave way with an audible snap. Red sparkles obscured her vision and a dull roar filled her ears as the pain poured through her like liquid lightning. Slowly, very slowly, the pain withdrew enough for her to be aware of the sobs wracking her body, and her captor's cold, cruel laughter. "Why?" she finally managed to gasp, panting as the pain threatened to overwhelm her. "Why would you do this?"

"**Because I can,"** Dark replied, poking her newly-broken leg to make her shriek again.

"AND BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT," Light added disdainfully.

The mad Decepticon poked and prodded her leg a while longer, chuckling as she squealed, but then stopped. Before she could hope for a reprieve, however, Darklight dragged her closer to him by the same leg he had just broken, making her cry out again, and gathered her up in his arms. He used one hand to force her head back and hold it in place, and raised the other one where she could get a closer look at it. Robin gulped as she stared at the razor-sharp claws tipping each of his fingers, and couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do now? Are you going to tear out my throat?"

"**You think I'm gonna offline you now, after I went through all the trouble of catchin' you? No, no, that'd be no fun, at all! No, I'm just gonna mark you as my new toy before the **_**real**_** fun begins."** Dark lowered his claw to her throat, and Robin whimpered as she felt the tip of it pierce her skin. **"Now, hold very still. I don't wanna slip and accidentally rip your head off…it's not everyday I get to play with one of Optimus Prime's lil' meat-bags."**

Part of Robin wanted to thrash, in the hopes that Darklight would kill her on accident, and save herself the pain of the torture she knew was coming, but the other part wanted to live, no matter what, and it was the part that won out in the end. She shrieked and screeched, her voice bouncing off the ashen gray walls of the building as the mad Decepticon carved into her flesh, but somehow, she managed to keep still, even as the smell of her own blood filled the air. Finally, he released Robin, and she scooted away several paces and vomited noisily onto the floor. Once she no longer had anything to bring up, she dragged herself several more paces before collapsing in a sobbing heap in the dust. Darklight followed her, and said, "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING, FLESHLING? YOU DO NOT REALLY THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE WITH BOTH OF YOUR LEGS INJURED, DO YOU? BESIDES, NO ONE WOULD FIND YOU OUT HERE, AMONG ALL THESE RUINED BUILDINGS."

It was then that Robin realized exactly where she was. When she was a child, a fire had started in the old paper mill, and had wrecked several blocks before anyone could put it out. At the time, the city council had decided to leave the burned section as it was, as a reminder of what happened, and now, while everyone wanted the ruins torn down, no one really had any ideas as to how to go about it. Truly, it was an almost perfect place to bring someone for torture, because no one lived close enough to hear any screams coming out of the area. "Why bring me here?" she snarled, glaring up at the mad assassin. "You want to fight Optimus so damn bad, but you bring me to some out-of-the-way hellhole where no one will find me? What kind of idiot logic is that? You didn't even check to see if Ten actually knew where the Autobot base is, before sending him out with that message!"

"**Don't you dare question me, squishy!"** Dark bellowed, hauling Robin to her feet and pinning her against one of the nearby support pillars. **"Whether the lil' coward finds the Autobots or not, it's all the same to me…I still get to play with you 'til you break."**

"DO NOT WORRY, WE SHALL MAKE SURE THAT THE AUTOBOTS FIND YOU…EVENTUALLY, WHETHER THE LITTLE COWARD MANAGES TO FIND THEM OR NOT. AFTER ALL, WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PRIME'S REACTION WHEN HE SEES WHAT IS LEFT OF YOU, WHEN HE FOUGHT SO HARD TO PROTECT YOU BEFORE," Light grinned, before letting her drop again.

Robin let out another shriek of pain as the impact jarred her leg, sending fresh waves of agony ripping through her. "But he barely even knows me!" she wailed, curling up into a ball against the pain. "He had just picked me up not long before you attacked him."

"**It doesn't matter! He thought he could keep you from me…keep you to himself. But I've got you now. I put our name on you, so you belong to us now!"**

"I don't belong to any--"

Before Robin could finish her sentence, she started screaming again, because Darklight had grabbed her broken leg and dragged her across the room to a corner near the back wall. When he finally let her go, her cries subsided to more broken sobbing, and she tried to curl back into a ball, but he would not let her do so. Instead, he physically forced her to straighten out, long enough to lock an old chain around her waist, and attached the other end to another support pillar. "WE DO NOT WANT YOU TRYING TO WANDER TOO FAR WITH THAT BROKEN LEG, AFTER ALL," Light told her, his red-lit eyes glinting wickedly.

"_Oh god…what am I going to do?"_ she thought, weeping and fighting the urge to completely give into hysteria. _"He doesn't even actually _want_ anything from me…just to hear me scream."_ Suddenly, the Decepticon grabbed her again, this time tearing off her t-shirt, leaving her to shiver in the chilly air. "What the hell are you doing?" she cried, before she could stop herself.

Instead of answering, one of Darklight's wrist-blades emerged, its orange light illuminating the area. As Robin watched, the insane mech picked up what looked like a long piece of wire and ran it along the flat of the brightly glowing blade. He did this twice, before holding it up where she could see it. Instead of the flat, dull color of old metal, the wire now glowed a bright cherry red. **"See? It's ready,"** Dark cheerfully informed her as he slowly lowered it to her now bare stomach. **"Now we get to have some **_**real**_** fun."**

Without waiting for a response, Darklight slowly dragged the red-hot wire across her belly, giggling as she thrashed wildly and screeched like a banshee. Once the wire grew cool, he simply heated it again, relishing the look of horrified apprehension she wore as she watched him work. Then it started over again, in a different spot, until the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Again and again, the Decepticon heated the wire and dragged it across her body, stopping occasionally, only to touch her with it again once she started to relax. Robin passed out several times, only to awaken again when he started burning a new spot on her body, or clawed her again, or started screaming that she wasn't allowed to rest yet.. After a hellish eternity of white hot agony, her voice finally gave out and Darklight finally stopped torturing her. **"Aww…your voice broke already? That's no good,"** Dark said, gently petting the top of Robin's head as if she were a kitten. **"I'll let you rest now. After all, you're no fun if you can't scream."**

Then the crazed assassin turned and walked away, leaving her to weep in silent despair, whimpering as the burns throbbed in sync with her broken leg and the cuts on her throat and body. _"Somebody…anybody…"_ she silently cried, overcome with pain and exhaustion. _"Help me…"_

…

Tenebrous limped through the forest, cursing as branches snagged on his now-useless right arm. According to his internal clock, he had only been running for a few hours, but the pain made it feel like far longer. "Sis, please hang on!" he cried, trying his hardest to ignore his frantically screaming pain sensors. "Primus, please, I have to help her!"

Apparently, Primus wasn't listening, as Ten's legs suddenly gave out on him. "What? No!" the little mech howled as he tumbled to the dirt. He tried to get up, but only managed to flip over onto his back, before his limbs refused to cooperate any further. Tenebrous' body had decided it had had enough, and refused to move another inch. "Sis…" he whimpered, sorrow and shame welling up in his spark.

Finally, unable to help himself, the little Neutral began to keen in misery, loudly enough to startle the sleeping birds out of the trees. _"Sis, I'm so sorry…"_

…

Bumblebee drove down the road, as his charges, Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes dozed in their seats. As the official ambassador for the Autobots, and as the human Prime, Sam had the right, as well as the security clearance, to visit any base that the Autobots and their human allies were currently using, which was where they were currently heading. They were not far from the town called Haven, when an unearthly wail rang out through the night. "What the hell IS that?" Sam yelped, jerking awake at the sound.

The mysterious noise went on and on, sounding like a scream, an air raid siren, and an out-of-tune radio station all rolled into one bloodcurdling package and it sounded very close. Bumblebee pulled over to the side of the road, stopped, and opened the door. "What's going on?" Mikaela asked, as she and Sam climbed out of the Camaro.

Wheelie, a former Decepticon who could transform into a remote-controlled toy truck, tumbled out of Bumblebee's back seat, and looked up at Mikaela. "That's a Cybertronian, Warrior-Goddess," he told her, shuddering as the wailing continued. "Eesh! Whoever it is, they ain't running a distress beacon, but they're in a lotta pain, if they're screamin' like that."

Bumblebee shifted out of his alt form, looked around carefully, and then down at his charges. _(Stay…stay right where you are,) _he told them, using a radio broadcast to speak, as usual.

"You're going to look for it?" Sam asked, nervously looking up at his guardian. "What if it's a Decepticon?"

_(Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!)_ Bumblebee replied.

"What?"

"He means that if they're screamin' like that, they ain't in any shape to pick a fight," Wheelie explained, a note of annoyance in his voice.

'Bee nodded and chirped, and then entered the forest. He did not travel very far, before he found the source of the noise, in the form of a little, bright blue mech with yellow optics that clearly identified him as a Neutral, who lay sprawled across the ground, energon slowly leaking from his right shoulder, where his arm used to be. When he noticed Bumblebee towering over him, his wailing quieted somewhat, but did not stop, completely. _(Dearest, what's wrong?)_ the scout said, using a clip from the movie _Aladdin_.

The mech did not answer, but tried to get up, instead. When he failed to move more than an inch, the keening grew louder again. Bumblebee used several other sound-bytes in an attempt to get the Cybertronian to talk to him, but to no avail. Finally, the scout reached out on the comm systems, and asked, _::What happened to you?::_

Surprised, the little bot stopped wailing and stared up at him, amber optics wide with surprise. _::That's an Autobot frequency…are you one of them, then?::_ he sent back, looking almost afraid of the answer.

_::I am.::_

That answer sent the smaller mech into a panic. _::Then you have to help me! He took her! He took her and tore my arm off and said he's gonna offline her if I don't find the big guy!::_

_::I can take you to the others, but I need you to calm down,::_ Bumblebee replied, kneeling down to pick up the injured mech and his detached limb. _::What is your name?::_

"There's no time for that!" the little bot yelled aloud as his rescuer carried him out of the forest. "If you don't do something, Sis is going to die! Didn't you hear me the first time?"

_::I did, but if you don't calm down, you are going to offline yourself, and won't help anyone.::_ The injured mech fell silent, and 'Bee took pity on him and added, _::I'm sorry, I know you're afraid, but you have to stay calm if you're going to help your friend. So tell me, what is your name? Mine is Bumblebee.::_

"Tenebrous," the little mech replied, shuddering slightly as another burst of pain ran through his sensors, "but Sis called--calls me Ten."

By this time, Bumblebee and Ten emerged from the woods, where Sam, Mikaela, and Wheelie stood waiting. "So who was it?" the former Decepticon asked, craning his neck-struts to get a better look. Once 'Bee put Tenebrous on the ground, Wheelie spotted his yellow optics and exclaimed, "Hey, it's a Neutral!"

Ten stared blankly at the little truck for a long moment, but went completely berserk when he saw the ex-Decepticon's red optics. "You little fragger!" he bellowed, struggling to get up.

When the Neutral's attempts to get up failed, he let out a stream of Cybertronian profanity that made Wheelie flinch and Bumblebee let out a low whistle of amazement. "This guy must've taken lessons from Ironhide, or something," the former Decepticon muttered, optics wide with amazement. Then Ten spat out another curse, and Wheelie indignantly yelled, "Hey, my femme creator never did anything like that!"

"Great, just what we need…a mini-Ironhide," Sam moaned, slapping his hand to his forehead.

"Get that slagging Decepticon away from me!" Tenebrous roared.

"Hey, hey! I quit the Decepticons ages ago! I work for the Warrior-Goddess now!" Wheelie replied, rolling over to Mikaela and hugging her leg.

Ten looked like he wanted to reply, but could only groan as his body threatened to send him into stasis. "Please…" he finally managed to whimper.

"What happened to him?" Mikaela asked, edging closer to the injured mech.

_(An unknown force…)_ Bumblebee replied, before shifting into his Camaro form. Once the transformation was finished, the doors popped open, and he added, _(Get this man to a hospital!)_

"How are we supposed to carry him?" Sam wanted to know. "I mean, he's leaking energon everywhere."

_(I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, cause Band-Aid's stuck on me,)_ 'Bee answered, revving his engine a little in impatience.

Sam stared blankly at his guardian a moment longer, wondering what he could use as a bandage, when an idea hit him. He quickly pulled off his t-shirt, and hurried over to Tenebrous, who had stopped glaring at Wheelie in favor of moaning in pain, and wrapped it around him. "What are you doing?" Mikaela wondered aloud.

"It's not much, but we can use it as a bandage. Come on," he replied, tying off the cloth and lifting Ten.

Carefully, the two of them put Tenebrous and his broken arm in Bumblebee's back seat, and they and Wheelie quickly climbed in after him. _(Keep him talking,)_ 'Bee said, sounding like a hostage negotiator.

Nodding, Mikaela turned and looked at the injured mech, and said, "Hey, can you tell me your name?"

"Why the Pit do you people keep asking me that?" Tenebrous groaned, staring at Mikaela as if she might attack at any moment.

"Well, we can't keep calling you 'hey you'," Sam replied as Bee sped down the road. "Well, we can, but it seems kinda impersonal, seeing how you're wearing my shirt, and all…not that I mind."

"I gotta tell you…looking at this skinny kid without his shirt on is not fun," Wheelie added, glaring at Sam before turning back to Ten. "You'd better be grateful."

"Hey, you'd better watch it, Mini-Me," Sam snapped, glowering at the ex-Decepticon through the rear-view mirror. "I know where that box is that Mikaela kept you in."

"My name's Tenebrous…Ten," the Neutral moaned, cutting through the argument. "And you people are crazy…no wonder you're Autobots."

"Hey, if we're Autobots, and you think we're crazy, what does that make you?" Sam demanded. "You can't be a Decepticon, or Bumblebee wouldn't have tried to help you."

"Wait, didn't Wheelie call you a Neutral?" Mikaela asked. "How come we've never heard of you?"

"No one ever talks about us, 'cause we won't fight." Ten shuttered his optics and trembled. "Couldn't fight…Sis, I'm so sorry…"

…

By the time they made it to the base, Tenebrous had told them that a Decepticon had taken "Sis" and wanted him to deliver a message, but the little mech did not say who it was for, or why he was headed in the wrong direction. They purposely did _not_ tell him he had been going the wrong way, fearful that he would start wailing again. Once inside the main hangar, Sam climbed out of Bumblebee and shouted, "Ratchet! Ratchet, where are you?" Then he spotted Lennox and Epps, who had walked in to discover the source of the screaming. "Will! Bobby! Please tell me that one of you knows where Ratchet is!"

"Dude, calm down," the Master Sergeant replied. "Ratchet just finished doing repairs on Optimus a little while ago, and went to go recharge. What do you need him for, anyway?" Then he paused, noticed the state of Sam's clothing, and asked, "And why are you half-naked?"

"Why do you feel the need to ask me _that_?" Sam groaned in exasperation. "Shouldn't the fact that I'm looking for Ratchet override the fact that I'm missing a shirt? And how does missing a shirt count as half-naked, anyway? It's not like I'm showing anything…"

Suddenly, Bumblebee's car alarm went off, echoing loudly through the hangar. Sam and Epps turned to look at the Camaro, and spotted Mikaela trying to drag Tenebrous out of the back seat. "Can you please get over here and help me?" she snapped, glaring at the both of them. "I'd really like to avoid burning my hands off, Sam."

"Oh, right!" he said, rushing over to help her.

Once they managed to get Ten out of Bumblebee, the yellow scout quickly shifted back into his bipedal mode, just as Jolt and Ironhide both came storming into the hangar, blue optics bright with rage. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shock you all and…" he paused, noticing Tenebrous on the floor, and said, "What in Cybertron happened to him?"

"Bumblebee found him in the woods," Sam replied, somewhat grateful that Jolt had been distracted. "And all we've been able to get out of him is that his name is Ten, and that a Decepticon attacked him, took someone he calls "Sis", told him to deliver a message, and let him go the wrong way trying to find you guys."

"And where is this Decepticon now?" Ironhide demanded, as his cannons appeared and began charging up.

"You can shoot 'Cons later," Jolt said, rolling his optics in disgust. "Can't you see he needs medical attention?" Then he gently picked up the injured mech, drew a needle, and inserted it into one of Ten's fuel lines. "This will help with the pain," Jolt explained, injecting the needle's contents as the Neutral gave him a querying look.

"No…don't dope me yet," Tenebrous pleaded, attempting to shy away, although it was too late to avoid the medication. "I need to talk to the big guy, first."

Everyone paused, and then turned to look at Ironhide. "What?" the weapons specialist snapped, nonplussed by the sudden attention.

"'Hide...do you know this little guy?" Lennox asked.

"I've never seen him before."

"No, not that trigger-happy bozo!" Ten screamed, making everyone flinch. "The other big guy! The one from the car wash…the flame one!"

"Are you talking about Optimus?" Mikaela asked, looking somewhat confused.

"I dunno…" the little mech replied, relaxing slightly as the medication began taking effect. "Is he the one called 'The Prime'?"

"That's the only 'flame guy' I can think of," Epps said, "and the only Autobot that's been to a car wash recently."

"Are you still on that?" Lennox groaned, shuddering slightly at the memory of their previous conversation.

"No, but apparently you are, since you brought it up."

"Not again…" Ironhide growled, shuttering his optics in annoyance.

Sam blinked, confused by the weapons specialist's reaction. "Uh…as much as we'd like to hear about this car wash, and why Will's freaking out about it, don't you think we should go find Optimus? I mean, it sounds like Ten's message is kind of important."

"Oh, there's no need," Ratchet growled as he entered the hangar. He fixed everyone with a piercing glare, and then added, "Since you all managed to wake half the base, I'm sure he'll be along shortly."

As predicted, Optimus entered the hangar, quickly followed by the rest of the Autobots and several soldiers, who were all curious about the sudden increase of noise in the middle of the night. Before anyone could make any complaints, however, Tenebrous caught site of Optimus and said "Hey, car wash guy…"

Someone snickered, and Ratchet glowered at everyone while hefting a wrench, daring anyone to speak. Sideswipe, Skids, and Mudflap all smothered their smirks, while Lennox glared daggers at a silently laughing Epps. Mikaela and Sam looked confused, while Wheelie, Bumblebee, Arcee, Chromia, and Flareup looked innocent, and Jolt and Ironhide looked slightly annoyed. Optimus ran a hand over his faceplates in silent exasperation, and looked down at Tenebrous, who, despite the drugs, still wore an expression of panic mixed with terror. "There is no need to fear me, or anyone here," the Autobot leader said. "You are safe here."

"Not worried 'bout me," Ten replied. "Worried 'bout Sis. You have to help her."

"What happened?"

The little mech's optics filled with despair. "That Decepticon…he took Sis and I couldn't stop him. Tore my arm off. Offlined her creators, too…right in front of her. You have to help her! He told me to find the Autobots…to find you!"

"You have found us," Optimus calmly replied, "and we will do everything in our power to rescue your friend." Then he turned his attention to Jolt and Ratchet, and said, "Take him to the medical bay, and do everything you can for him."

Both medics nodded and started to leave, when Tenebrous managed to fight through the drugs, and cried, "Wait! I still have to give you the message! I have to give it so you can help Robin!" When Optimus heard that name, he froze, his expression more surprised than if Jolt had attacked him with one of his electric whips, and Ten continued to speak, "Robin…she's your friend, too, right? That's why he gave me the message." The Neutral opened his mouth as if to say something else, but a voice that was not his own emerged instead.

**…_Lil' coward, I've got a job for you…don't care about that…rip you apart…see what's in store…_**_FIND THE PRIME…INFORM HIM WE HAVE HIS FLESHLING…NEW TOY…FIND HER BEFORE SHE BREAKS…_

Before anyone could ask the injured mech for clarification, the recording ended abruptly, and he collapsed without a sound. "Is he…" Mikaela trailed off, afraid to finish the question.

Ratchet shook his head. "No, just in stasis. He could not fight the effects of the sedative any longer." He turned to look at the junior medic. "Jolt, go ahead and take him to the infirmary. I'll be there momentarily."

The blue mech nodded and left without argument. "Hey, Ten never said anything about two Decepticons," Sam said, shuddering at the sound of the recorded voices. "He kept talking like there was only one."

"That is because there is only one," Optimus replied, his blue optics blazing with anger. "His name is Darklight."

Upon hearing that name, every Autobot in the room recoiled like mongooses with a basket of live cobras dropped in their midst. "That fragger is here?" Ironhide bellowed as his cannons, which had quieted, began whirring again in response to his fury.

"Just let me find him," Sideswipe snarled, his twin swords extending and glinting ominously in the fluorescent lights of the hangar. "There won't be enough of him left to fit in a bucket."

Bumblebee let out an angry noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a warble, and crouched protectively over Mikaela and Sam, while his plasma cannon charged and his battle-mask slipped into place. "Are you tellin' me that that psycho's still around?" Wheelie cried, crimson optics wide in horror. "I thought one of you guys had slagged him by now!"

All of the Autobots immediately went silent, turned, and glared down at the former Decepticon, who shrank away and darted to the relative safety of Mikaela's leg. Before any of them could do more than scowl, however, Lennox stepped forward, and asked, "Who is Darklight?"

"He's a filthy, Pit-spawned assassin," Ironhide spat, still scowling at Wheelie.

"He's crazy is what he is!" Wheelie interrupted, still hiding behind Mikaela, "and if he's got that 'Sis' or 'Robin' or whatever the frag that Neutral called her, she's in a lotta trouble." Then he looked up at Ironhide and said, "And you can stop lookin' at me like that, 'cause I didn't know he was here! Nobody ever told me nothin'! Besides, I got all my orders from Soundwave, and he wasn't the chattiest mech of the bunch."

"Hey, lay off him, Ironhide," Mikaela snapped, much to the mech's surprise. "Wheelie's on our side now, so don't try to blame him for this! He would have told us if he knew there was a psycho assassin running around."

The room was suddenly quiet as everyone present stared at the young woman as if she had just spoken Martian. Wheelie looked up at her with something akin to worship shining in his optics, before latching onto her leg and crying, "Thank you, Warrior-Goddess!"

Ironhide blinked, and then grumbled, "Just what we need…another Sarah."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lennox wanted to know.

Before the weapons specialist could answer his partner's question, a high-pitched, bone-chilling, feminine scream rang out in the hangar, followed by deep, villainous laughter. Sam turned to gape at Bumblebee, who was the source of both sounds, and said, "Wow, 'Bee…that was surprisingly evil."

The scout rolled his optics, and then added, _(I need a hero…I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light. Don't wait too long…I can't hold out much longer.)_

When the sound-bytes finished, Optimus, who had been silent until then, looked at Ratchet, and said, "I want you or Jolt to alert me the moment he is functional."

Without waiting for a reply, the Autobot leader strode out of the hangar with long, purposeful steps. Sam, Mikaela, Lennox, and Epps all watched him leave with varying degrees of shock in their expressions, as they had never seen him behave in such a manner. "So…" Sam began, his eyes wide, "is it me, or does Optimus seem a little different?"

Will shook his head and replied, "Compared to this, different would just be a new paintjob. Something's definitely wrong."

"He'll be fine once he gets his hands on Darklight," Ironhide replied, apparently unperturbed by Optimus' behavior.

"Yes," Ratchet calmly added, "You have probably never witnessed it, outside of battle, but Optimus is what you humans refer to as 'pissed off'."


	6. Entrapment

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the lack of updates, everyone! This chapter was originally WAY longer, and included the epic battle everyone's been waiting for, but I just had to split it, because it was shaping up to be twenty pages on my word processor. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was hoping to see the fight this chapter, and hope you will all forgive me. Oh, and on a lighter note: April is officially designated as "Wheeljack Appreciation Month", so everyone give your favorite Autobot inventor a hug and show him some love! -hugs Wheeljack-

**Special Thanks:** Like always, I'd like to thank Faecat for encouraging me to write this, and letting me bounce ideas off of her. And thanks to my cousin, Shawn, and my brother, James, for help in the creation of Darklight and Tenebrous. Lastly, I'd also like to include Gixxer Pilot, for being another awesome idea-fountain and pal. If you don't already read Faecat's or Gixxer's stories, you should seriously consider doing so!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Transformers. If I did, Darklight and Ten would be in one of the movies, and Michael Bay would've had to invent an Autobot to kill off, instead of Jazz.

"_Thoughts/Processes"_  
_::Internal Comms::  
(Bumblebee's Radio)

* * *

_

Chapter 6: Entrapment

Robin lay in a thick, grey fog that swirled around her and made her feel as if the entire universe had faded away, leaving only her behind. _"Am I dead? Did Darklight finally get bored and decide to kill me?"_ she thought, as a vague brush of curiosity swept over her. Then she realized that, although muted, the pain still pulsed through her like relentless waves of acid. _"No…if I was dead, I wouldn't hurt. Where am I, then?"_

A large shadow moved within the mist, and while Robin wanted to shy away from it, fearing that it was Darklight, as it had been in many previous dreams, but as before, she found that she could not move. The figure drew closer, until the vapor drifted away, revealing Optimus and the holoform she knew as Orion. Both images stared down at her, and tilted their heads slightly, as if confused by her presence. She tried to call out to them, but was unable to make a sound. They continued staring at her in silence, but when it became apparent that she was not going to speak, they opened their mouths, and in one voice, said, "Pie."

Robin gaped at them, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. Why in the world would an eons-old alien robot say such a ridiculous thing? "Pie?" she yelled incredulously. "What does pie have to do with anything?"

…_Flash…_

Robin awoke with a start as a massive wave of cold, scummy, foul-smelling water washed over her, causing her to splutter and choke, trying not to drown. **"Get up, lil' meat-bag,"** Dark said, as he put down an old trashcan he had used as a bucket. **"The sun is up and it's time for fun!"**

"SHE IS NOT GOING TO GET UP IF YOU DROWN HER, DARK," Light grumbled in annoyance.

"**You're the one that said the squishies need water to survive."**

"THEY HAVE TO DRINK IT, NOT INHALE IT. YOU SPENT ALL THAT TIME WITH SCALPEL ON HIS 'LIVE EXPERIMENTS' AND DO NOT EVEN KNOW THAT?"

"**It's your job to know these things, Light. I just like playin' with all my toys as much as I can before they break."**

As the two personalities argued back and forth, Robin bit her lip to keep from screaming in pain as she slowly scooted away from her captor. Unfortunately, she had forgotten about the chain locked around her waist, and it rattled loudly before she could go very far. Darklight bellowed something vile in Cybertronian, and immediately pounced on her like some sort of predatory beast, his engine roaring loudly in her ears as he pinned her down, and snarled, **"Where do you think you're goin', you lil' glitch? Did we say you could move? Well, did we? Answer me!"**

"No!" Robin rasped out, coughing and weeping, as his weight bore down on her just short of crushing force. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

"**You're fraggin' right you won't do it again,"** Dark snapped, his face mere inches from hers. **"You're **_**mine**_**, and you'd better remember that!"** His ruby optics narrowed as he glared down at her. **"Maybe you need a lil' reminder, huh?"**

Robin froze as he raised his hand, the same hand he had used to carve his name into her throat the night before, and began lightly tracing the alien glyphs now embedded in her skin. She whimpered as she felt the cuts bleed again, and the memories of the previous night's torture poured into the forefront of her mind. Finally, he stopped his tracing, apparently satisfied by her weeping, and eased off of her. "YOU REALLY SHOULD NOT RILE DARK UP LIKE THAT," Light said, grinning maliciously as he stood up. "YOU ARE HIS PROPERTY NOW…AT LEAST UNTIL HE FINALLY GETS BORED WITH YOU."

"I'm not your property," Robin sobbed, clasping her hands to her throat. "No matter how many times you put your name on me, I'm still a human being! I have a mind and a soul, and you can't--"

"YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A PATHETIC INSECT!" Light snarled, towering over her. "MY KIND LIVE FOR EONS, WHILE YOU FLESHLINGS ARE LUCKY IF THEY CAN SURVIVE FOR A SINGLE VORN BEFORE OFFLINING! YOUR EXISTENCE IS NOTHING BUT A TINY SPECK IN THE VASTNESS OF THE UNIVERSE, AND WHEN YOU ARE GONE, NOTHING AND NO ONE WILL MOURN YOUR PASSING. YOU HAVE A MIND AND A SOUL? YOUR SO-CALLED MIND IS BARELY CONSCIOUS, AND AS FOR A SOUL…NO GOD WORTHY OF THE TITLE WOULD WASTE SUCH A THING ON ONE AS INSIGNIFICANT AS YOU. IF ANY SORT OF BEING DID CREATE YOUR SPECIES, THEY DID SO AS A CRUEL JOKE, NOT OUT OF LOVE, AS YOU ALL LIKE TO CLAIM. NOTHING IN THIS UNIVERSE COULD POSSIBLY LOVE YOU. WE WILL OFFLINE YOU AND ALL OF YOUR KIND, AND THE UNIVERSE WILL BE GRATEFUL FOR IT."

Robin flinched under all of his words as if they were physical blows, and wept even harder. "I-if that's the c-case, then what about the Autobots?" she stammered, not looking up at him. "You seem t-to think that Orion…Optimus is going to c-come looking for me. Your other half s-seems to think that he cares."

"ONLY BECAUSE HE FEELS OBLIGATED TO PROTECT WORTHLESS CREATURES LIKE YOU," Light sneered. He then reached down and carefully tilted Robin's head up, forcing her to meet his gaze. "IF THE PRIME FEELS ANYTHING FOR YOU HUMANS, IT IS PITY…NOT FRIENDSHIP, NOR THE COMPASSION HE CLAIMS TO POSSESS. IT WOULD BE FOOLISH TO BELIEVE ANYTHING ELSE." He released his hold on her, and then added, "WHY WOULD HE EVEN BOTHER BECOMING FRIENDS WITH ANY OF YOU? YOU WOULD JUST AGE AND OFFLINE BEFORE HE COULD BLINK TWICE. NO, YOU FLESHLINGS ARE JUST POSSESSIONS, AND IF ANYTHING MAKES HIM SEARCH FOR YOU, IT WILL BE HIS WOUNDED PRIDE, NOT LOVE OF ANY SORT. YOU REMEMBER THAT, THE NEXT TIME YOU WEEP FOR HIM DURING YOUR RECHARGE."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she whimpered, looking away from him again.

"OH? I HEARD YOU CALL HIS NAME, ALONG WITH THE LITTLE COWARD'S, AND THOSE OF YOUR CREATORS." Robin flinched, and Darklight smiled cruelly at her. "I WAS EVEN KIND ENOUGH TO RECORD IT FOR YOU."

…_Mom…Dad…Ten…please stop hurting them…someone, please help…Orion…_

The mumbling then broke off into soft weeping, and then the recording shut off. Light's expression turned cold, and he said, "WEEPING IS POINTLESS, FLESHLING. IT WILL NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOUR CREATORS ARE OFFLINE, OR THAT THE LITTLE COWARD HAS MOST LIKELY JOINED THEM AND IT WILL NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU WERE TOO WEAK TO FIGHT BACK AND SAVE YOURSELF. YOUR WRETCHED LIFE WILL END IN MISERY AND PAIN, AND IF THE PRIME DOES MANAGE TO FIND YOU BEFORE YOU OFFLINE, IT WILL ONLY BE BECAUSE DARK AND I ALLOW IT, AND ONLY SO THAT HE CAN WATCH YOU PERISH BEFORE WE SEND HIM TO JOIN YOU. HE IS A FOOL FOR EVEN BOTHERING TO PROTECT WORTHLESS CREATURES LIKE YOU. IT ONLY SHOWS HOW WEAK HE IS, AND IT SHALL BE HIS DOWNFALL. AFTER ALL, THAT WEAKNESS GOT HIM OFFLINED ONCE BEFORE."

"Before?" Robin stared up at her captor in bewilderment. _"He offlined before? But that's like death, right? Or is it something else for their kind?"_

Before she could ponder it further, Darklight grabbed her arm in an almost bone-crushing grip, and hauled her roughly to her feet. Robin let out a scream of agony as white-hot agony lanced through her broken leg, and the mad Decepticon laughed at the sound. **"Now, now,"** he playfully chided, as he slipped back into the Dark persona. **"We can't have you not payin' attention, can we? Since your voice is back, and we still have some time before we need to finish the last of our surprises for any visitors, I think we should play some more. There's still so many new games I wanna teach you before you break."**

…

It had been a full day since Bumblebee, Sam, Mikaela, and Wheelie had brought Tenebrous to the base. Although the little mech was badly injured, Ratchet and Jolt had been able to save him, and he would eventually recover and emerge from stasis, once all his systems stabilized. Until then, Ten would remain unconscious, and unable to tell anyone anything more about his encounter with Darklight. During that time, no one bothered Optimus more than they had to, partly out of respect, and partly out of a well-developed sense of self-preservation. In the meantime, the Autobots hacked into local police computers, looking for anything suspicious and the NEST soldiers prepared to move out, once they had a destination. It was not long, however, before Arcee reported stories of an explosion in Haven, and that rumors of a red-eyed demon being responsible had spread like wildfire.

"That has to be Darklight," Will said, when he heard the news. "He's got to be somewhere in the town."

"So…" Sam began, looking around the room at everyone. "Who wants to be the one to tell Optimus where Darklight might be?"

The room fell silent as every human and Autobot present turned to look at Ironhide. He returned their stares with a grimace of disgust and said, "Fine, you bunch of sparklings, I'll do it."

The black mech stalked off and returned a few minutes later, Optimus following behind him. "What did you learn?" the Autobot leader asked, looking around the room.

"Since the Neutral won't come out of stasis for a while, we hacked into all the local police channels to see what we could find," Arcee replied. "Apparently, there have been several reports of a 'demon' in Haven, and many believe that it is responsible for the mysterious 'explosion' that offlined the two people identified as Robin's parents."

"Unfortunately, there haven't been any other reports, other than the ones from the other night, so we don't have a definite location," Jolt added. "But if he is really waiting for you, then he won't have gone very far."

"Then we will split up and search the town," Optimus announced, with all the finality of a sentencing. He turned to Jolt, and said, "I want you to stay here, in case Ten does emerge from stasis." The blue medic nodded, and Optimus turned his attention to the rest of the Autobots. "The rest of you, stay in contact. If you find Darklight, do not engage with him alone." He paused giving a significant look to Skids, Mudflap, and most especially, Sideswipe. "Alert the rest of us as soon you find him."

Sideswipe looked as if he wanted to protest, most likely thinking he could handle the situation alone, but decided to remain silent. Ratchet then spoke up, and said, "If you find the human, get her out of there as quickly as possible without injuring her further. You should all have updated files on how to handle injured humans by now."

Everyone nodded, and Optimus said, "All right, Autobots. Roll out."

…

Ratchet slowly rolled through the abandoned district of Haven, carefully scanning for any signs of human life as he did so. So far, his scans had come up blank, but he had only been through a third of the sector, and still had quite an extensive search ahead of him. Suddenly, as Ratchet rolled past one of the more dilapidated buildings in the area, a series of small explosions nearby caught his attention. His alert systems screamed in alarm, but the medic was unable to move out of the way before the building's foundation gave way, and the whole thing collapsed on him, pinning him in place. His pain sensors shrilled in agony at the heavy steel support beam piercing his alt form's chassis, but somehow, a sheer stroke of good luck had kept it from puncturing anything vital. _"It just hurts like the Pit and I can't transform to take it out,"_ he inwardly snarled.

Before he could open a channel and call for assistance, however, the sounds of an approaching motorcycle caught his attention. It roared to a stop just outside the former building that now pinned Ratchet in place, and the medic felt a sense of foreboding as the sounds of a Cybertronian transformation filled the air. "Well that doesn't sound good," he muttered, as the sounds changed from transformation to approaching footsteps.

"IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE GOT LOST, DARK," Light said, amusement quite clear in the persona's tone.

"**Aww…poor lil' lost mech,"** Dark crowed, equally jubilant. **"I wonder who the unlucky fragger is."** There was a pause, and then he said, **"Hey, Light, do you think we oughtta blast whoever it is before they call for help?"**

"NO, I HAVE A BETTER IDEA. WE TOOK THE FLESHLING TO BRING OUT THE PRIME, SO WHY NOT ENCOURAGE THIS ONE TO CALL HIM HERE?"

"If you think I'm going to call Optimus here for you, then you're sorely mistaken," Ratchet snapped, wishing that he could move.

"OH NO? NOT EVEN FOR HIS LITTLE HUMAN FEMME?" Light asked. "AND I THOUGHT SCALPEL WAS CRUEL."

"**Well, if the lil' meat-bag's life is so meaningless, then can I go finish playin' with her? I really wanna hear the sounds she makes when her head snaps off of her spine…besides, her noisemaker doesn't work so well anymore, so she's gettin' kinda boring."**

"How do I even know she's still alive?" Ratchet demanded, torn between his duties as a medic and those as a soldier.

"ARE YOU WILLING TO TAKE THAT CHANCE?" Light replied. "PERHAPS THIS WILL MAKE YOU RETHINK YOUR DECISION."

A recording began to play, one of a woman weeping, and it tore at Ratchet's spark to hear it.

…_Mom…Dad…please make it stop…it hurts so much…Ten…Orion…help me…please…_

"**If that isn't enough to motivate you, then what about this?"** Dark added, sending Ratchet a data-stream. **"I bet you'll enjoy it! I know I did!"**

The data-stream had caught the medic off-guard, and he found himself forced to watch as Darklight "played" with Robin, inflicting wounds that were extremely painful and disfiguring, but not immediately lethal. He watched as the mad mech snapped her leg like a twig, and carefully carved his name into her throat in Decepticon graffiti, before burning her with wires. He watched as Darklight nearly drowned her in filthy water and carved glyphs for "toy" and "slave" into her body. As Ratchet continued to watch the torture, his spark burned with a towering rage, fueled by his current helplessness and the drive of his medical protocols demanding he render assistance. "Stop!" he finally bellowed, breaking free of the data-stream. "All right, I'll call them."

"SEE? THAT WAS NOT SO DIFFICULT," Light said smugly.

"**No, but now I really wanna go back and play some more!"** Dark complained.

"I KNOW, BUT IT WILL BE SO MUCH MORE SATISFYING TO LET THE PRIME WATCH HER OFFLINE BEFORE HIS VERY OWN OPTICS." Then Light turned his attention back to Ratchet, and said, "I SUGGEST YOU CALL HIM NOW, AUTOBOT, BEFORE DARK DECIDES TO IGNORE ME AND OFFLINE THE HUMAN ANYWAY."

With a heavy spark, Ratchet opened a communications channel, and said, _::Optimus, we have a situation.::_

_::What is it, old friend?::_ Optimus replied immediately.

_::I found Darklight, or rather, he found me…after a building fell on me.::_

_::And he hasn't attacked you or tried to keep you from contacting us?::_ Ironhide demanded.

_::No. He wanted me to contact Optimus and reveal his location.::_ Ratchet replied, wishing dearly that he could throw something. _::And apparently, he is harboring the belief that Robin is Optimus' femme.::_

The line went silent. For a moment, Ratchet feared that both Optimus and Ironhide had suffered a processor glitch and crashed their systems. Just then, Chromia joined the conversation, and asked, _::Darklight thinks that the human is Optimus' femme? What in Primus' name is wrong with him?::_

_(My first guess would be a lot,)_ Bumblebee replied, sending a clip from _Con Air_ over the internal comms.

_::Is Robin still alive, Ratchet?::_ Optimus asked, finally rejoining the conversation.

_::I believe she is, but won't be much longer. Darklight is getting bored with his new 'toy'. I'm sending you my location now. Be careful…apparently he's booby-trapped the area.::_

_::Hang on, Ratchet. We'll be there soon,::_ Ironhide said, before the comm system shut down.

"**So, are they on their way?"** Dark demanded impatiently. When Ratchet didn't reply, Darklight grew frustrated and kicked the pile of rubble holding him prisoner. **"I'm talkin' to you, glitch-head!"**

The medic bit back a groan as the blow jostled the beam jammed through his alt form, and then snapped, "Yes, they're on their way. Why don't you stand someplace tall, so they can see you better?"

"**You mean like this?"** Dark asked, climbing the wreckage and bouncing up and down. Ratchet let out a cry of pain and shivered violently, and Darklight chuckled at the sound before climbing down again. **"As much fun as it is, I don't wanna make things **_**too**_** easy for your friends, now do I? Now, I have to go get ready for them, so you be a good lil' mech and don't wander off."**

With that parting shot, the mad Decepticon transformed again and roared away, maniacal laughter still floating in the air around Ratchet's impromptu prison as the CMO's pain sensors shrilled in renewed torment.


	7. Storm of Wrath

**Author's Note:** All right, everyone! Here it is, the epic battle you've all been waiting for. It's the longest fight I've ever actually written, though, so I hope it doesn't disappoint anyone. Also, I'll go ahead and warn everyone of numerous 'Bot injuries, so please don't throw too big a fit. -goes into hiding-

**Mini Contest:** There is a very minor OC character in this chapter who is named after a character from a certain TV show. He isn't actually that character, but the first person who can tell me the actual character's name and the TV show he's in will win an honorable mention in the next chapter.

**Special Thanks:** You're all probably tired of hearing it, but these people deserve to be recognized for being so helpful! Thanks go out to Faecat, for being my encouragement, a sounding board and a good friend; Gixxer Pilot, for being another sounding board and good friend; Shawn, for helping create Darklight; James, for inspiring Tenebrous; and finally, all the fans who take the time to read/review/alert/favorite this story. You all rock!

**Disclaimer:** -checks pockets and finds them empty- Nope, still don't own it. I just own the OCs which don't earn me any money whatsoever, but make life fun.

"_Thoughts/Processes"_  
_::Internal Comms::  
(Bumblebee's Radio)

* * *

_

Chapter 7: Storm of Wrath

"**Y'know, Light…"** Dark began, as they settled in their hiding place to wait for the Autobots. **"That Autobot we caught probably warned his pals about our traps."**

"IT DOES NOT MATTER," Light calmly replied. "THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY FOR THEM TO DEAL WITH, NOT WHILE FIGHTING US AND TRYING TO SAVE THE FLESHLING AT THE SAME TIME. IF THEY TRY, THEY WILL EITHER END UP TRAPPED OR OFFLINED."

"**Ooh! Can I play with the ones that get trapped? The squishies are fun, but they don't last as long as an Autobot."**

"I DO NOT SEE WHY NOT, AS LONG AS YOU BEHAVE YOURSELF."

…

After relaying the coordinates to the NEST members waiting at the base, the Autobots immediately headed to the abandoned district of Haven to rescue Ratchet and Robin, and hunt down Darklight. Optimus was the first to enter the district, and had almost reached the trapped medic, when his scanners picked up a human presence in one of the larger buildings nearby. _"That must be Robin,"_ he processed, turning and heading for the building.

Once he arrived, he transformed into his bipedal form and checked the area. When no attack was forthcoming, Optimus entered the building and felt his spark flutter slightly as the coppery smell of blood hit him in a palpable wave. The scent grew stronger and stronger as he drew closer, until he found the source. It was Robin; lying on the floor unconscious and covered in blood, with a chain wrapped around her waist. Optimus ran a scan on her, and felt his temper flare as he discovered not just the cuts and burns, but broken bones, a high fever, and several other signs of infection, as well. As if reacting to the scan, Robin opened her eyes and tried to scream, but the only sound that came from her mouth was a harsh croak.

"Robin, please calm down," Optimus said, carefully kneeling down so that he no longer towered over her.

Apparently, it worked, because although Robin still appeared to be in a great deal of pain, the blind panic had left her. "O-Orion?" she rasped. "How…"

"A friend of yours found us."

"Ten? He's…a-alive?"

Optimus nodded. "Yes."

Robin burst into tears, her broken, croaky sobs echoing weirdly in the ruins of the building before she managed to bring them under control. Shuddering with pain, she looked up at Optimus and rasped, "Orion…please…r-run away…"

He shook his head, reached for the chain binding her to the support beam, and replied, "I'm getting you out of here."

"N-no…trap!"

As soon as the words left Robin's lips, the entire building shook violently as several support beams gave way under a series of small explosions, causing most of the ceiling to come crashing down. Optimus quickly flung himself forward, catching the collapsing mass of concrete and steel across his back before it could crush Robin. Unfortunately, the weight left him trapped on his hands and knees, unable to move without either letting the ceiling fall on her or accidentally crushing her himself. _::Optimus, where are you?::_ Ironhide called over the comm lines. _::One of the fragging buildings just collapsed.::_

_::You have a keen optic for the obvious, Ironhide,::_ Optimus tersely replied, bracing himself as the roof's remnants shifted slightly. _::Now, if you're not too busy, you think perhaps that you could come get it off my back, before it crushes the both of us?::_

_::Both?::_

Optimus let out a mechanical sigh of exasperation, and then, as calmly as possible, said, _::Yes, both. I found Robin, but she is trapped under me, and I'm trapped under the building. Now, would you like to continue nitpicking, or move it, because I cannot hold it up forever.::_

_::Right, I'm on my way.::_

The link closed, Optimus turned his attention back to Robin, who lay silently beneath him. "Robin, hold on. Help is coming."

"You shouldn't h-have come…" she croakily wept. "He only d-did it to lure you here. Y-you knew that, s-so why? I'm n-not worth it."

"All life is worth preserving," he quietly replied.

"But you barely know me," she wailed, though the sound more closely resembled a raven's squawk.

Optimus shook his head slightly. "I don't have to know you to know that your life is worth saving, Robin."

"No it's not!" she cried, shuddering as pain wracked her body. "You and Ten…you've both been hurt protecting me. My parents died because of me. You should've just left me on the road to die!"

"Darklight's actions are not your fault. If the blame is to fall on anyone, it should be me for not doing a better job of protecting you."

Dumbfounded by the Autobot leader's fierce response, Robin was unable to reply, and just laid beneath him, gazing into his sapphire optics with a silent, pleading look. Finally, she let out a small sigh, and slipped into unconsciousness. For a moment, Optimus feared that she had offlined, but his sensors immediately reassured him that that was not the case. Now that she was not moving around, however, he was able to get a better look at the cuts on her throat, and immediately recognized the jagged lines of the script the Decepticons were fond of using. _"He marked her,"_ Optimus realized, as a terrible, burning rage built in his spark and threatened to trigger his battle-protocols. _"He marked her as a slave and hurt her, just to mock me."_

Before his anger could cloud his processors, however, the sounds of several human vehicles caught his attention. Several doors slammed, and a soldier's voice called out, "Optimus, can you hear me? Ironhide, Chromia, and Sideswipe are coming to free you, so just hang on."

"See if you can find a way to free Robin, first," Optimus replied, tensing as the building shifted slightly. "If you can move her, then I should be able to break free on my own."

The soldier, who Optimus recognized as Private First Class Jason Williams did not reply, but the faint sounds of scrabbling on the rubble informed the Autobot leader of a human climbing nearby. Finally, Williams shouted, "I found a hole someone can crawl through. It's a bit claustrophobic, but I should…"

Suddenly, the sounds of a heavy thud, Private Williams screaming, and a loud crash reached Optimus' audio receptors. Almost immediately after that came the sounds of machine gun fire and a very familiar voice cackling above the din. **"Wow, that one flew a lot farther than I thought it would!"** Dark laughed, ignoring the rest of the soldiers shooting at him. **"Hey, Prime…since you have nothing better to do down there, why don't you do me a favor and keep a score for how many squishies I punt around?"**

Before Optimus could respond, however, something, most likely one of the remaining support beams, shifted slightly, causing a good part of the roof to collapse even further, nearly making him lose his balance and crush Robin. **"Oh, and you were so close, too!"** Darklight crowed from somewhere near where the collapse occurred.

"YOU FLESHLINGS MIGHT WANT TO BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU AIM, THOUGH," Light added, his voice full of savage glee. "YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO ACCIDENTALLY CRUSH THE PRIME OR HIS LITTLE FEMME, NOW WOULD YOU?"

"Damn you!" Corporal Leroy Gibbs roared, his fury carrying his voice over the din of the battle.

Suddenly, the sounds of three separate transformations filled the air, and the report of Cybertronian weapons firing joined the staccato clatter of the soldiers' guns. "Optimus!" Ironhide bellowed, easily making himself heard above the booming of his cannons. "We're here."

"Just sit tight, big guy," Sideswipe quipped, even as he glared at Darklight. "We'll take care of this sorry piece of slag and have you out of there in no time."

"YOU CAN TRY," Light retorted.

"**But you're gonna fail,"** Dark added, glaring back at the silver mech.

"That's what you think," Ironhide snarled, firing at the Decepticon.

…

Darklight dove away from the blast and retreated, darting into, out of, and between buildings with the grace of a dancer, firing back and laughing wildly as Sideswipe and Ironhide pursued him. At the same time, Chromia made her way to the opening Private Williams had discovered, and found that she could fit inside it. _::Optimus, hang on,::_ the blue femme sent as she started to crawl into the hole. _::Ironhide and Sideswipe are pursuing Darklight now, so I should be able to…::_

Before she could finish her sentence, however, a large explosion went off nearby, and Chromia heard the distant sounds of her sisters screaming, before the massive wave of pain sent her spiraling into unconsciousness.

…

Ironhide stared in silent horror at what he had just done. He had Darklight in his sights, and fired his right cannon at him, only to have the Decepticon to dive out of the way at the last moment. As a result, the blast had struck the ruins trapping Optimus and the human, as well as his beloved Chromia. Sideswipe and Darklight both stopped fighting and stared at Ironhide: the former in shock, and the latter in sadistic glee. **"Nice goin', glitch!"** Darklight guffawed, **"Isn't that femme supposed to be your precious sparkmate? Some mate **_**you**_** turned out to be, shootin' her and all."**

"NOW, NOW, DARK," Light chided, although the smirk he wore revealed his own pleasure. "YOU SHOULD NOT MOCK THE ELDERLY. BESIDES, CAN YOU REALLY BLAME HIM FOR WANTING TO GET RID OF HIS FEMME? THEY ARE USELESS AND ANNOYING, AFTER ALL."

Although the spark-bond thrumming within him proved that Chromia was still online, Darklight's taunt, along with the distant cries of her sisters as they shared her pain, stoked his fury as he chased after the now-retreating Decepticon. Sideswipe quickly joined him, and the two Autobots pursued the assassin, who continued to duck and weave amongst the buildings as he tried to evade their shots and retaliated with a few of his own. As the three mechs raced through the district, several other buildings collapsed, some from Darklight's booby-traps, and others from Ironhide and Sideswipe's weapons-fire. **"Hey, why do you two keep missin'? I thought you two were supposed to be big, bad Autobots, not a couple of sparklings!"** Dark sneered as he danced out of the way of yet another blast.

"APPARENTLY, WE WERE MISTAKEN," Light added, as he returned fire. "OF COURSE, THE PRIME WAS ALWAYS FOND OF PICKING SOLDIERS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SCRAPHEAP."

Just then, Darklight, Sideswipe, and Ironhide emerged from the maze of buildings, heading to where the rest of the Autobots and several NEST members were positioned, including Lennox and Epps. Skids and Mudflap were working diligently to free Ratchet from his makeshift prison, while Bumblebee and the human soldiers stood guard over Arcee and Flareup, who still suffered the backlash from Chromia's sudden injury and had gone into a kind of stasis. Upon spotting Darklight, the humans and Bumblebee immediately opened fire, but at the last moment, the assassin shifted back into his alt mode, presenting a smaller target. Several bullets still struck him, but Bumblebee's plasma blast sailed overhead, missing him completely. Unfortunately, at that moment, Ironhide burst onto the scene just in time to take the blast to his right knee, much to everyone's horror.

The weapons specialist let out a roar of pain, followed by a blistering stream of curses in several languages as the injured joint buckled, and he lost his balance and started to fall forward. Realizing his trajectory would cause him to land on top of several humans, including Epps and Lennox, Ironhide leaped, turning his fall into a flip that sent him sailing over the soldiers' heads before he hit the pavement. The black mech landed with a heavy crash, rolled over on his shoulder, and then came up on his feet. His weight, however, was distributed more on his now-injured knee, and the joint finally gave way, sending Ironhide back to the ground. "Oh man!" Epps exclaimed, shaking slightly as he resumed firing on Darklight. "For a moment, I thought my tombstone was gonna read 'Crushed by Alien Robot Ass'!"

"Not the time, Epps!" Lennox yelled, feeling quite shaken up, as well. "Focus!"

Meanwhile, a horrorstricken Bumblebee made his way over to Ironhide, his broken vocal processor warbling and screeching in apprehension. _(Didn't mean to hurt you, but I always do. I'm sorry, so sorry …)_ his radio played, even as he sent another message across the comm systems. _::Ironhide, I'm so sorry! I was aiming for Darklight but he moved at the last moment!::_

"Don't worry about me, just go help the twins free Ratchet," Ironhide replied, his voice strained with pain and fury. He then looked over at Skids and Mudflap, who were standing on the pile of debris still holding Ratchet prisoner, and had abandoned trying to free the CMO in favor of shooting at Darklight. "What in the Pit are you two doing?"

"Whassit look like we doin'?" Mudflap replied, still firing at the cackling Decepticon.

"Looks like youse missin' is what," Skids quipped, shooting his twin a sidelong glance.

"Naw, that's you that's missin'," the red mech snapped.

Before the two could start squabbling, Ironhide pointed both cannons at the twins, and snarled, "The only thing that's going to be missing are your afts when I blow them away! Now stop playing around and help Ratchet!"

Skids and Mudflap both turned to stare at Ironhide, and upon seeing the weapon specialist's wrathful glare, immediately ceased bickering and returned to moving debris, even as Darklight darted back among the buildings, Sideswipe following behind him. After seeing what happened to his comrades, Sideswipe decided to change tactics from his wrist-blasters to his swords, and managed to get close enough to the retreating assassin to slash at him. Darklight let himself drop into a sideways slide, and just barely evaded the silver mech's blade, before shifting out of his alt form and retaliating with a strike of his own. "HEH…NOT BAD," Light said, as Sideswipe sidestepped his attack.

"**Yeah, if you were swattin' at drones,"** Dark laughed mockingly.

Sideswipe snarled something unintelligible, and lashed out at Darklight again, anger and frustration quite evident in his assault. The Decepticon managed to evade the first blow, and only took a graze from the second strike across his chest-plates. Sideswipe let out a whoop of triumph when he saw that he managed to wound Darklight, but instead of crying out in pain, the assassin giggled, made a rude noise similar to a raspberry, and took off. Furious, the silver mech quickly pursued his opponent, and managed to catch up to him again, but when he struck at him this time, the mad Decepticon quickly turned and blocked the incoming blade with one of his own. The two mechs stood nearly frozen in place, swords locked together as they sought to overpower one another.

Finally, Darklight grinned, aimed his shoulder-rifle at Sideswipe, and fired. When Sideswipe saw the rifle move, and quickly backed away, but not fast enough to avoid the blast completely. The energy bolt seared past him, but burned his neck and shoulder along the way, warping his paint and causing his pain sensors to scream at him. The silver mech yelled, pain and rage coursing through him as Darklight retreated. He immediately gave chase, but as he did so, he felt Optimus reach out to him over the comm lines. _::Sideswipe, fall back,::_ Optimus commanded, as the sense of him fighting to keep the building up carried over the message.

"What?" the silver mech bellowed aloud in dismay. "But I can still get him!"

_::Fall back!::_

Darklight deftly evaded another strike of Sideswipe's blades, and cackled, **"What's the matter with you, Autobot? Are you too st-stu-stupid to do what your boss tells you?"**

Completely enraged, Sideswipe renewed his assault with furious abandon, becoming even more frustrated as Darklight ducked and dived, refusing to fight in a straightforward manner. Every time Sideswipe thought he had his opponent cornered, the insane mech somehow managed to squirm his way out of the situation, which only increased his fury at being thwarted. "Stop running away, frag you!" he roared, as the Decepticon danced out of the way of yet another slash.

Darklight smiled wickedly at Sideswipe, and then fired his disruptor cannon at him. Not recognizing the ruse for what it was, the silver mech skidded to a stop and barely managed to sidestep the glowing green orb that rocketed past him. Unfortunately, dodging the blast left Sideswipe wide open, and he was completely off-guard when Darklight darted forward and lashed out with one of his energon blades, catching him across both optics. Sideswipe let out a terrible cry of pain and rage, staggering backward as his crazed opponent laughed at him. **"What's the matter?"** Dark taunted, gleeful at the Autobot's torment. **"Does it hurt? It looks like you aren't so tough without that pretty brother of yours around to save your sorry aft."**

Sideswipe snarled unintelligibly and lashed out at the sound of the assassin's voice, but the mad mech easily evaded the blow. "WHERE _IS_ YOUR BROTHER, BY THE WAY?" Light asked, grinning as Sideswipe continued lashing about with his swords in a frenzied attempt to reach him. "IS SUNSTREAKER EVEN STILL AROUND? I AM SURE HE WOULD _NEVER_ LEAVE HIS PRECIOUS TWIN ALONE TO FEND FOR HIMSELF…OR WOULD HE? MAYBE HE GREW TIRED OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCRAP LIKE YOU, AND JUST ABANDONED YOU?"

"Shut up!" Sideswipe bellowed, still slashing blindly. "You don't know anything!"

"**Aww…it looks like he's in pain, Light,"** Dark laughed. **"Maybe we should put him outta his misery."**

"THAT WOULD BE THE MERCIFUL THING TO DO, WOULD IT NOT?" Light replied with a chuckle.

"**Yeah, that's a good point! We don't want him thinkin' we're goin' soft on him now, do we?"**

…

By the time Skids, Mudflap, and Bumblebee were nearly finished freeing Ratchet, Arcee and Flareup awoke from their forced stasis, and without a word, rushed to Chromia's aid. When they reached their blue sister, the remaining soldiers were helping her as best they could, but she was still unconscious and blocking the only opening large enough for anyone to enter to reach Optimus and Robin. "Back up, everyone," Arcee commanded, looking around at the humans. Then she turned to Flareup and said, "When Chromia is free, see if you can crawl underneath and get the human out of there."

"Right," Flareup replied, nodding in agreement.

Carefully, the two of them managed to pull Chromia out of the hole, and once that was accomplished, Flareup immediately took her place, while Arcee and the soldiers stood guard. After much scrabbling and scraping, the purple femme managed to crawl underneath Optimus without dislodging any of the wreckage that threatened to finish collapsing at any moment. Once there, she found Robin lying unconscious on the floor, and quickly snapped the chain around her waist before scooping her up into her arms. "Don't worry, sir," Flareup told Optimus, trying to sound reassuring in spite of the pain in her spark, "I'll get her out of here in no time."

"Please hurry," he replied.

Flareup worked as quickly, but carefully as possible, and finally managed to pull herself and Robin from beneath Optimus and the building. Once they were clear, the Autobot leader heaved himself up, even as the wreckage finished collapsing, and kicked his way out of the debris as it gathered around his legs. When he was finally free, he quickly scanned the area and found where Sideswipe was still battling Darklight. _"Hold on, Sideswipe. I'm on my way."_

…

Sideswipe stumbled backward, trying to evade yet another one of Darklight's slashes, but let out a cry of pain as one of the mad mech's energon blades raked across his torso. Although blinded, Sideswipe had managed to keep Darklight from landing any lethal blows, but he was quickly beginning to tire. The Decepticon sensed this, and taunted, "WHAT IS THE MATTER? HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ALREADY? IT IS RATHER DISAPPOINTING, BUT IF YOU WOULD RATHER LIE DOWN AND DIE, I WILL NOT COMPLAIN. IT IS NOT LIKE YOUR WORTHLESS BROTHER WILL COME TO SAVE YOU THIS TIME, SO IT IS PROBABLY FOR THE BEST."

"You leave Sunstreaker out of this!" Sideswipe roared, slashing ineffectually at his opponent.

"**Why don't you make us?"** Dark sneered as he deftly dodged the wounded mech's blade. **"Besides, he **_**is**_** out of this…or are you the only one not seein' that?"** The crazed assassin paused, and then burst out into gales of wild laughter. **"Oh sorry, I forgot! You're blind!"**

Sideswipe let out an unintelligible snarl of pure rage, and charged forward, not caring that Darklight was purposely goading him. The silver mech slashed at the assassin time and again, but failed to land any telling blows. Darklight dodged the attacks for a few moments, waiting for an opening, and then darted forward, a manic grin spreading across his faceplates as he aimed both energon blades directly at Sideswipe's spark. _**"So long, showoff!"**_

Before the killing strike could connect, however, something--someone pulled Sideswipe out of the way at the last moment, and left him on his aft as a massive silver fist swept out, smashed Darklight in the face, and sent him sailing backward several yards before crashing into a wall. **"What the frag was that?"** Dark snarled, shaking his head as he got to his feet. Then he looked up and saw Optimus Prime standing before him, looking like wrath incarnate with blue optics blazing in pure fury. Unimpressed, Darklight scowled back at the larger mech and hissed, **"Oh, it's you. Did you finally let that lil' meat-bag die, then? I didn't think you had the bearings for that, but I guess even the great Optimus Prime can be a cold mech when he wants to."**

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Optimus coldly replied, glowering down at the assassin, "but Robin is safe now. You won't touch her ever again."

The resulting expression on Darklight's face was quite peculiar for a Decepticon. At first, Darklight's only expression was surprise, quickly followed by disappointment that made the mech look vaguely like a child learning that Christmas had been cancelled. Finally, his features twisted with pure rage, and, in both Dark and Light's voices, he shrieked, **"MY TOY! HOW DARE YOU!"**

Before Optimus could even respond to that outburst, Darklight pounced on him like a rabid weasel, shrieking incoherently and slashing wildly. The Autobot leader staggered backward a bit, but then regained his balance, pulled the crazed mech off his chest, and threw him. Darklight sailed through the air, crashed into the same wall from before, this time punching through the concrete, and landed in a crumpled heap on the other side. Optimus charged after him, knocking down the rest of the wall, and before the assassin could recover; he picked him up by his shoulder-mounted rifle and flung him back across the clearing, past a very bewildered Sideswipe. Darklight managed to get up before Optimus could catch up to him, darted forward a second time and managed to land a heavy blow before the Autobot Commander knocked him away again.

Darklight flew threw the air, but managed to regain his composure and twist himself around so that when he landed, it was on all fours instead of his back, and he skidded backward a ways, his claws leaving long gashes in the ground as he went. Before he even came to a complete stop, the crazed assassin fired several shots at the rapidly approaching Optimus, grinning like a lunatic as the blows made the larger mech flinch. However, Optimus Prime's temper, which was nothing short of monumental, had finally snapped, and he shrugged off the attacks and kept charging forward. When Darklight realized that fact, he tried to retreat, but the Autobot leader managed to catch him before he could dart away. The Decepticon squirmed in his grip, and tried to blast him in the face with his plasma rifle, but Optimus grabbed the offending weapon with his free hand and ripped it off before slamming his opponent the pavement.

In his madness, Darklight did not even scream, despite the fact that all of his pain sensors were doing so. Instead, he cackled wildly, even as Optimus beat him, using his own torn-off weapon as a club. When the rifle finally broke apart, Optimus glowered down at Darklight, who didn't even try to get up, but just leered at the furious Autobot towering over him, in spite of the pain screeching though him. **"I didn't make **YOU ANGRY**, did I, **PRIME**?"** he smirked, energon leaking from his lip-plates as his vocal processors wobbled between "Dark" and "Light". **"You **THINK YOU **saved your lil' **FEMME**? You **SAVED** nothin'! I **TOOK HER **and marked her and **BROKE HER**, and nothin' you** DO WILL EVER CHANGE **it. **SHE IS **mine, Prime, and I'll come back **FOR HER**, just **WAIT** and see!"**

Optimus' optics burned like a pair of azure stars as Darklight's rant dissolved into more hysterical laughter, and without even pausing to process it, he reached down, tore the Decepticon's chest-plates open, and pulled out his spark. The glowing orb flickered erratically in the Autobot Commander's hand, and exploded in a small explosion of light as he slowly crushed it. Almost immediately, Darklight's scarlet optics dimmed, and his battered and broken body fell limp, even as the faint echoes of his insane laughter floated on the breeze. Optimus glared down at the broken form, rage still burning in his spark, but he quickly reined in his wrath and walked away. _"I will not follow my brother's example and let my temper rule me."

* * *

_

**Author's Note 2:** And that's the chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed reading as much as I did writing it! Anyway, updates after this may be a bit on the slow side, since fans from my other stories have poked me and rightly pointed out that I've been neglecting them. I'm obviously not giving up on this, but I just wanted to let everyone know.


	8. Picking Up the Pieces

**Author's Note 1:** A thousand pardons for being so late on the update, but many factors got in the way. These include but are not limited to writer's block, wandering muses, rapidly multiplying plotbunnies, depression, LAS, and finally finding a job. On a brighter note, I did manage to get this chapter done in time for the story's first birthday!

**Mini Contest Winner:** Mistra Rose is the winner of the mini contest I announced last chapter! For those who didn't know, the OC is named after Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs from the incredibly awesome TV show, NCIS. For those who also guessed correctly, thank you for playing, even though I don't really have any good prizes to hand out.

**Special Thanks:** As always, many thanks go out to Faecat and Gixxer Pilot for all their help with the fic. Seriously, you two made this story a lot better than what it would have been had I written it entirely on my own. Also, a big thank you to Shawn and James for inspiring Darklight and Tenebrous. Finally, a ginormous thanks to all of you out there who enjoy this story.

**Disclaimer:** -sings- Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Oh, I don't own it, so now you can't sue.

* * *

"_Thoughts/Processes"  
::Internal Comms::  
(Bumblebee's Radio)_

Chapter 8: Picking Up the Pieces

By the time Optimus had reached the place where he left Sideswipe, his fury had already cooled, and was instead replaced by concern when he spotted the silver mech moving carefully, in an attempt to avoid tripping on anything in his blinded state. "Sideswipe, can you see at all?" he asked.

"Just light and shadow," Sideswipe quietly replied. "I could see his blade moving, but that was all."

The smaller mech began to move again, but then wobbled dangerously. Before he could fall, however, Optimus reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Let me help you."

Sideswipe shook his head and pulled away slightly. "I can make it back to the others on my own."

Optimus let Sideswipe go, and the silver mech started to make his way through the ruins. He did not get very far, however, before he caught his wheel on Darklight's remains and tripped, faceplanting onto the street with a loud crash. He lay there unmoving for a few moments, and then finally raised a hand and groaned, "All right, Optimus, you win…just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I won't say a word."

…

When Optimus and Sideswipe finally regrouped with the rest of the Autobots and the NEST team, Ratchet was no longer buried under a pile of rubble, but was still trapped in his alt mode with the steel beam running through him. It would have been difficult to tell if the medic was even still functioning, if not for the vicious stream of snarling and profanity coming from his direction. "Why hasn't anyone pulled that out of him yet?" Optimus demanded, fixing each of the uninjured Autobots with a stern glare.

"Uh, we was waitin' on you," Mudflap tentatively replied.

"Yeah, cuz youse the only one of us he wouldn' slag for touchin' it," Skids muttered.

_(You do it…I'll hold him down,)_ Bumblebee responded, using a sound-byte from _Braveheart_.

"I heard that!" Ratchet snarled. "And I'm storing it in my memory banks for the next time one of you needs to be repaired."

Optimus fought down the urge to roll his optics in disgust, walked over to Ratchet, and carefully studied the beam. _::Ratchet, are you sure you want me to take this out here?::_ he sent, concern quite evident over the link.

_::Yes,::_ the medic replied, his tone strained with suppressed pain. _::It did not hit anything vital when it went through, thank Primus, but if I try to travel with it still in there, the movement may rupture one of my main energon lines. Just carefully pull it straight out and it should not damage anything further.::_

Optimus nodded, and then reached out and grabbed the beam, and said, _::Brace yourself. This is going to hurt.::_

Ratchet sent a wordless assent, and Optimus carefully pulled the beam out as quickly as he dared. The medic let out a sound very similar to a strangled scream, but then went strangely quiet. The Autobot Commander knew that Ratchet was still online, however, and that he had merely deactivated his vocal processors, because the medic was calling him every profane name in every language in the known universe over the private comm-link, including some threats Optimus didn't think were physically possible in any species. Finally, the beam pulled free, and Optimus put it with the rest of the wreckage the twins had excavated, as Ratchet shifted out of his alt mode and stood up. The CMO looked extremely battered, with dents and holes all over the place, but the stream of glowing blue energon now pouring down his left leg sent a chill through the Autobots when they saw it. "Must have nicked the line when it came out," Ratchet muttered, as he began working to repair the leak.

Lennox, who had been standing next to Ironhide, noticed his partner's concerned expression, and asked, "What's wrong, 'Hide? You've lost more energon than that in a battle."

"Yes, but the line Ratchet is repairing is a main one, similar to a major artery in humans. If the line had broken while he was still pinned by that piece of scrap, he very well could have bled out and offlined before anyone could help him."

Will did not answer, but paled and nodded mutely. He knew from personal experience how frightening the prospect of losing your medic in combat could be. Meanwhile, Epps had made his way over to Sideswipe, who had been unusually quiet since he and Optimus had rejoined the group. "Hey, Sides, you okay? You haven't made a single smart-ass comment since you got back."

The silver mech glowered down in Bobby's general direction, revealing his damaged optics, and hissed, "Do I fragging look okay?"

Epps flinched when he saw the damage, and said, "Damn! Sorry I asked."

Sideswipe looked as if he wanted to make the sarcastic comment Epps had asked for, but refrained from doing so, as Ratchet had finished his own repairs and was now checking everyone else. The CMO carefully inspected the younger mech's injuries, and then finally said, "I can repair this when we return to base. You'll need to let one of the humans ride with you, though, and guide you back."

Sideswipe gave Ratchet a look that was a mixture of mutiny and extreme embarrassment, but shifted into his alt mode without a sound, other than a sigh of deep disgust. "So…who's gonna be Sideswipe's lil' seein'-eye human?" Skids innocently asked, as Lennox and several other soldiers joined Epps, who was watching Ratchet work with more than a little fascination.

A pause ensued, as Will and Bobby both stared at each other, the wheels in their heads turning. Suddenly, both of them bolted toward the silver Corvette, each trying to be the first one to reach him. The two soldiers reached Sideswipe at the same time and skidded to a halt before they could crash into him. "Hey, you get to drive Ironhide, damn it," Epps complained, scowling at Lennox. "It's my turn to drive!"

"But Ironhide can't drive now! He's got a big hole in his knee!" Will griped.

"So? He's like your buddy or something, so you should ride with him!"

"That's not how it works, Bobby!"

"Do I _have_ to let them ride with me?" Sideswipe asked, not quite keeping the whine out of his tone.

"Are you really going to argue with me?" Optimus ominously replied.

The Corvette actually managed to cringe, and then let out another mechanical sigh of disgust. Then, when Lennox and Epps both started tugging on Sideswipe's door-handle, he swung the door open quickly, pushing both soldiers roughly away. "You two get the frag off me!" he snarled, as his engine revved in annoyance. "If you want to fight over me, do it someplace far away!"

Surprised silence ensued as Will and Bobby both stared at the silver mech as if he had just clucked like a chicken. Then Corporal Gibbs took advantage of the situation and neatly slid into Sideswipe's driver's seat and shut the door. "Hey!" Bobby and Will shouted simultaneously as Gibbs buckled his seatbelt.

"You snooze, you lose, gentlemen," Gibbs smirked, as Sideswipe revved his engine.

As both the Major and the Master Sergeant stared in dumbfounded disbelief, Sideswipe and Gibbs roared away, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Lennox continued staring in silent amazement, as Epps slapped his forehead and groaned, "Man, that's totally not cool!"

After Gibbs and Sideswipe left, Ratchet had turned his attention to Chromia and Ironhide. The CMO fell silent as he scanned the blue femme, and remained that way, until her sparkmate grew impatient, as well as a little paranoid, and snapped, "Would you say something already?"

"Something," Ratchet flatly replied, glowering at Ironhide. His expression then softened slightly, and he said, "The damage Chromia sustained looks a lot worse than it actually is. She won't come out of stasis for a while, but she will be fine." The weapons specialist started to relax a bit at the good news, but stopped as Ratchet's expression hardened again. "You, however, are decidedly _not_ fine!" the medic growled, glaring down at Ironhide's right knee as if it deeply offended him. "I hope Major Lennox has some other means of transportation, since _you_ won't be taking him anywhere anytime soon."

"I'm perfectly capable of transporting Will!" Ironhide protested.

"Not if you can't transform, you can't," Ratchet replied, folding his arms across his chest and staring down at the black mech as if he was a teacher dealing with a particularly dense student.

"I can still transform!"

"No, you can't."

"That's complete slag and you know it!" Ironhide growled, glaring as if he'd like to throw something at Ratchet.

The medic cocked an optic ridge, but otherwise kept a neutral expression. "Oh really? All right, let's see you transform, then."

Ironhide let out an unintelligible grunt, and then started to transform. He had barely even started, however, before excruciating pain flooded his systems, and his safety systems kicked in, forcing him to shift back to his mech form. Once the pain stopped, he glared up at Ratchet, and grumbled, "I hate when you're right."

The CMO rolled his optics in disgust, and replied, "You'd hate it less if you would listen to me in the first place."

Optimus silently watched the two mechs bicker, but when Ratchet stopped arguing with Ironhide and turned to scan him, he shook his head and replied, "It's all right, Ratchet. Any damage I've sustained can wait until we return to base." Then, before the medic could protest, he opened a private channel and added, _::You still have your own injuries to worry about, old friend.::_

Ratchet blinked at Optimus in what could only be surprise. He quickly recovered, however, and gave the Autobot leader a tight little nod of assent. Then his expression turned grave, and he asked, "What about the human…Robin? Is she still alive?"

He and Optimus both turned to Flareup, who replied, "She was when I brought her to the medics."

Without another word, Optimus made his way over to the area the medics had set up as a triage unit, and easily spotted Robin, as she was the only one not in any sort of uniform. A renewed sense of fury surged through his spark yet again, and the bright sun threw the various injuries not yet bandaged or otherwise covered up into sharp relief, as Darklight's last words echoed through his processors.

…_**I **__TOOK HER __**and marked her and **__BROKE HER__**, and nothin' you**__ DO__ WILL EVER CHANGE __**it…**_

"No…you're wrong," Optimus muttered, shaking his head slightly, even as the words continued replaying.

…_TOOK HER…_

He shuttered his optics as guilt welled up to join his anger. _"I should have sent someone to make sure she was safe."_

…_**marked her…**_

"_I should have known Darklight would come after her."_

…_BROKE HER…_

Remorse and rage gnawed at Optimus' spark. _"I should have made absolutely sure he would not return."_

…_SHE IS __**mine, Prime…**_

"_No, she isn't!"_

"Excuse me, sir?"

Startled, Optimus snapped out of his reverie, and looked down at the human medic standing near his foot, looking up at him expectantly. "Yes?" He paused, noticing that his voice was slightly distorted, and he realized that his battle-mask had engaged in response to his rising temper, and he quickly retracted it. "What is it?"

If the medic noticed anything unusual about the Autobot leader's behavior, he did not show it. "Sir, we've done what we can for her, but it doesn't look good. We have to get her out of here as soon as possible."

"I understand," Optimus quietly replied, as another surge of guilt pricked at him.

The medic nodded mutely, and then trotted away, leaving Optimus alone once more. Before conscience could assail him again, however, another voice, a feminine one, caught his attention.

"He really got to you, didn't he? It's been a while since I've seen you this upset, Prime."

Optimus did not even have to look down to realize it was Arcee. He continued watching as the injured, or, in Private Williams' case, dead, soldiers were treated, or hauled away, but when they finally started moving Robin, he shuttered his optics and clenched his fists tightly. "Everything he did to her, every single thing, he did to strike at me," he finally said, his barely suppressed anger adding a sharp edge to his voice.

"Of course he did," the pink femme calmly replied. "In Darklight's view, just offlining her would not have made as much of a statement as torturing her would."

"I should have realized that sooner…protected her better," Optimus stated, finally looking down to meet Arcee's gaze. "I should have known that Darklight would hunt her down."

"But you're a Prime…not Primus himself," Arcee told him sadly.

"I'm a Prime, which means I should think things through!"

The pink femme did not immediately reply, but thoughtfully regarded Optimus for a long moment. Finally, she asked, "What _were_ you thinking, Prime?"

He shuttered his optics again, and quietly answered, "That she would be safe if I was nowhere near her; that she could live a normal life and not be dragged into our war. I was wrong."

"You were wrong, true, but if you had known that at the time, you would have chosen differently, I'm sure."

Optimus paused. It seemed like such a simple statement, but in reality, it was anything but. "If I had known Darklight would track down Robin, I would have brought her with me to the base, but at the cost of her freedom," he finally replied. He then shook his head and added, "I did not know for certain, so I could not bring myself to take away her right to live her life."

"So you regret granting Robin her freedom, then?" Arcee wanted to know, tilting her head slightly.

"No, only that allowing her to keep it cost her so much."

"And you know better than anyone else how high the cost of freedom can be." Arcee smiled sadly. "You know that, and still you refuse to deny anyone else their chance. No one here blames you for what happened, so you shouldn't, either. The actions were Darklight's, and his alone."

Whatever Optimus might have said in response was lost as his and Arcee's audios caught the sounds of a squabble behind them. Apparently, someone had come up with the idea of hauling Ironhide and Chromia back to base on an old flatbed trailer they had found, and now Major Lennox and Master Sergeant Epps were discussing whether it was the best course of action.

"Are you sure that thing's gonna hold 'Hide?" Bobby asked, eyeing the trailer doubtfully. "I mean, Chromia, sure, but 'Hide?"

"Are you trying to say he's fat?" Will asked, looking at his friend as if he might be crazy.

"You said it, not me."

Ironhide glowered down at Epps and snarled, "I'm NOT fat! I just have heavy armor!"

"Whatever makes you feel better," Epps shrugged.

"Jesus, Bobby!" Lennox groaned, smacking a palm over his eyes. "It's like you're _trying_ to get yourself killed!"

Bobby shrugged again. "Eh…if I wanted the safe life, I would've become an accountant or something." He then gave the trailer a doubtful look. "If you and Optimus think it will support Ironhide and Chromia for long enough, I'm all for it. We should have enough tarps to hide them until we get back to the base, anyway."

Will turned his attention to Optimus, who watched the proceedings in silence. Before the Major could say anything, however, the Autobot Commander strode over to where the flatbed waited, shifted down into his alt mode, and waited as the soldiers hitched the trailer to him. Once they finished, Ironhide slowly got up and limped toward the flatbed, shying away when Bumblebee attempted to help him. "I can handle this, youngling," the weapons specialist said roughly. Then, when he saw the scout's crestfallen look, his expression softened slightly, and he added, "I'll need you to hand Chromia to me once I'm settled."

Mollified, Bumblebee nodded and turned to pick up the still-unconscious femme as Ironhide carefully settled down on the flatbed. The trailer creaked loudly, and everyone, even Ironhide, tensed up as they waited to see if it would collapse under the Autobot's weight. Finally, the trailer quieted and remained intact, and Ironhide gave everyone a triumphant, albeit pained smirk, and said, "Ha! I told you so!"

"Never doubted you for a minute, big guy," Epps grinned.

Lennox shot his comrade a sidelong glance, and muttered, "But you were the one implying that he's fat..."

Before Bobby could reply, however, Bumblebee stepped forward and carefully handed Chromia to Ironhide, who cradled his sparkmate against his chest before lying down on the trailer. _::Thank you, Bumblebee,::_ he sent across a private link.

Surprised by the rare display of tenderness from the normally gruff weapons specialist, Bumblebee ducked his head slightly and chirped in response, but made no attempt to say anything else. At the same time, Lennox, Epps, and several other soldiers fetched numerous tarps from the NEST vehicles and began pulling them over Ironhide and Chromia, making several adjustments to make sure both Autobots were completely hidden, before finally strapping them all down. Once they finished, the soldiers all backed away, so Optimus could move without accidentally running anyone over. _::Bumblebee, I want you, Skids, Mudflap, Arcee, and Flareup to remain here and assist the soldiers,::_ Optimus ordered over the internal comms as he made ready to leave. _::Darklight may have left more traps behind that a human wouldn't immediately recognize.::_

_::Jus' leave it to us!::_ Skids replied, practically oozing reckless bravado.

_::Yeah!::_ Mudflap chimed in, not wanting to be outdone by his brother. _::We'll find those traps so fast...::_

Whatever analogy the red twin planned on using never made it out of his vocal processors, as Optimus' engine roared loudly enough to make everyone nearby take an involuntary step backward and startled them into silence. _::There is no need to show off,::_ he said, not bothering to keep the anger out of his comm. _::Just find the traps and deactivate them.::_

Skids and Mudflap wisely chose not to reply, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Optimus Prime's still-recovering temper. Silence then ensued, as the twins, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Flareup all wondered which one of them would need to ask the question of what to do with Darklight's remains. Finally, Bumblebee gave in, sighed inwardly, steeled himself and asked, _::Optimus…what do you want us to do with Darklight?::_

The backlash the scout half-expected never came; only a wave of sorrow and weariness, as Optimus finally replied, _::We cannot leave him here. Once you have finished sweeping the area for traps, find a way to transport him and bring him to the base.::_

Bumblebee clearly did not like the idea of bringing the offline Decepticon to the base, but kept his protest to himself. _::Understood. We'll take care of it.::_ The younger mech's countenance brightened a bit, and he added, _::Besides, I'm sure she'll want to see you, once she wakes up, so it'd be good if you were there.::

* * *

_

**Author's Note 2:** Once again, I apologize for how long it took to update. And yes, I felt the need to have someone end things on a positive note, so Bumblebee eagerly volunteered for the job. Anyway, today is _Discovered by the Roadside's_ birthday, so leave a review as a present!


	9. Waking

**Author's Note 1:** Sorry about the slowness of my updates. A lot of stuff has been going on IRL for the past several months, slowing all of my writing to a snail's pace. I'm sorry for that, but it cannot be helped. Oh, and since _Transformers: Dark of the Moon_ came out over the summer, I just want everyone to know that I saw it and hated it. I refuse to acknowledge that movie's existence, therefore very few things that ended up in it will be found in this, or any other TF story I write. Basically, everything I write is officially AU after ROTF. In other news, I also have pictures of Darklight and Tenebrous! They were done by the wonderfully talented RazzieMbessai over on deviantART, and you can find Darklight's pic here, as my profile pic, while Ten is over on my FictionPress account. And on a final note, I also posted a companion piece to this story a while back. It is called _Seven Days of Death_ and it is a oneshot featuring Darklight. I hope you all will read and enjoy it.

**Special Thanks:** Many thanks to Faecat and Gixxer Pilot for lending me an ear whenever I needed it...and of course, a huge thank you to all of you who read/review/fave/subscribe to the story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned it, Dark of the Moon wouldn't have been the clusterfuck it ended up being. Since that isn't the case, sadly, then it shows that I don't own Transformers or anything that goes with it.

* * *

_"__Thoughts/Processes"  
::Internal Comms::  
(Bumblebee's Radio)_

* * *

Chapter Nine: Waking

When Tenebrous came online again, his yellow optics homed in on the unfamiliar ceiling above him, giving the little Neutral something to focus on while he tried to figure out where he was. _"I was in a garage…then there was a bird…a robin…Robin…"_

His processors moved sluggishly, trying to bring themselves up to their normal speed.

_"Robin?"_

_ …Why Sis…_

_ "Sis?"_

_ …Ten, stop! Let me go! I have to go help my dad…_

_**…Well, lil' coward, I've got a job for you…**_

_ "I'm not a coward!"_

_ …THE LAST HUMAN DARK PLAYED WITH LASTED THREE DAYS. DARK WANTS TO SEE IF HE CAN BREAK THAT RECORD WITH THIS ONE. STILL, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU HURRY…_

"Oh Primus, Sis!" Ten loudly shouted, struggling to sit up.

"Hey, take it easy!" a vaguely familiar and annoying voice chided. "Sparky here just finished putting you back together, and he ain't gonna be happy if you wreck all his hard work."

Tenebrous turned to look at the source of the scolding, and then let his optics narrow as he recognized the mouthy little ex-Decepticon from before. Without even stopping to process it, the Neutral raised a fist, intending to strike the smaller mech, only to pause in mid-motion when a large, blue-armored hand interposed itself between them. Both mechs looked up to see the much larger Jolt glowering down at them. "Stop it!" the junior medic hissed, clearly annoyed. "I didn't put you back together so you could tear each other apart." He paused, and turned his gaze to Wheelie, and added, "Oh, and if you ever call me 'Sparky' again, I swear I'll remove your head and reattach it to your aft."

Wheelie flinched and muttered an apology before turning his attention back to Tenebrous. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that that broad you were so worried about…they found her."

Ten, who had been glaring at the ex-Decepticon over Jolt's fingers, froze as a cold chill pulsed through his spark. "Sis? They found her? Is she…"

"The femme is alive," Jolt told him, watching the little mech carefully. "Prime and the others rescued her and brought her here while you were still in stasis."

"I want to see her!" Tenebrous immediately replied, scrambling to his feet with every intention of running off to find his friend.

Jolt gently pushed the Neutral back down onto the berth, and sadly shook his head. "Your friend was…badly hurt and she is with the human medics now. They are doing all they can to save her, but organics are difficult to repair at the best of times."

Ten scowled up at the much larger mech, his yellow optics blazing angrily. "Don't say that! Don't say she's gonna offline!" He shook his head in violent denial as fear tore at his spark. "That Pit-spawned aft-biter can't win! They have to save her!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out who Tenebrous was referring to, and Wheelie let out a small, mechanical-sounding snort. "You don't have to worry about that. Optimus kicked that fragger's sorry tail all over the place before crushing his spark, so he won't be coming back anytime soon."

Ten let out a small sigh of relief at that, but then he looked back up at Jolt, and plaintively said, "I need to see her…please?"

Jolt shook his head again. "I'm sorry, but no one can see her right now…" He paused, seeing the crestfallen look on the smaller mech's face, and then added, "But I will let you know when you can see her."

…

Time passed, and Tenebrous found himself left alone for most of it, as he was not Jolt's only patient. Wheelie would come in to visit him, ignoring the Neutral's baleful glares in favor of attempting to talk his audios off before rolling off again, presumably back to the human he referred to as his "Warrior Goddess". Sometimes, Jolt would return, usually just long enough to fetch some item he needed before vanishing just as quickly as he appeared. Each time he did this, Tenebrous would look up at him with hopeful optics, only to slump in defeat when the much larger mech would shake is head. At one point, another mech, a very dented and banged-up yellow mech limped through, muttering quiet curses at anything and everything, though most of it was complaints about stubborn-aft mechs and their delusions of invincibility.

Jolt and the yellow mech, apparently another medic by the name of Ratchet, reappeared quite a few times, both singly and together, and Tenebrous got to the point where he just ignored them whenever they entered, since they never directly addressed him, except to tell him that he still could not see Robin. This went on for quite some time, until a grey and green-colored mech walked in, startling Ten out of his funk. He stared at the newcomer in complete surprise for a long moment, before finally recognizing him as Ratchet. "Hey, you're different!" the little Neutral blurted.

"What an astounding observation," the now-grey mech flatly replied, his tone positively dripping disdain. "I never would have discovered that if you hadn't pointed it out for me."

Tenebrous shrank under the mech's icy glare. He hadn't meant to offend the Autobot. "I…I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

Ratchet blinked once, apparently nonplussed by the little Neutral's response. "I'm afraid I'm the one who should apologize," he replied, "My temper is not what it should be, what with all the smart-aft comments I've received since I changed my alt form." He rolled his optics and muttered, "Professor Tic Tac, indeed."

Ten just stared up at the mech in uncomprehending silence for a moment, while he quickly looked up Tic Tacs on the internet, and then had to cut off his laughter before it could escape and raise the grey mech's ire. His amusement did not last long, however, as his concern for Robin came to the fore, and he asked, "Is there anymore news about Sis?"

"Actually, yes," Ratchet replied. "She is finally out of surgery, and…" He trailed off as Ten bolted out of the room, not waiting for the CMO to finish his sentence.

Tenebrous ran as fast as his legs would take him, desperate to know that Robin was okay, that she would live. It wasn't until he made it down the hall that the little Neutral realized that he had no idea where they placed her. Before he could go wandering off even further and possibly become lost, Ratchet caught up to him, and growled, "If you would have waited, instead of tearing off like an impatient sparkling, I would have told you that I would take you to see her."

Ten winced, then sheepishly replied, "Sorry…I didn't think about that."

Ratchet glared at him a moment longer, but then his expression softened slightly, and he said, "Follow me."

…

A few minutes later, Tenebrous found himself in another room, staring in horror at a bandaged wreck of a human being. The only reason the little mech even recognized Robin was because unlike the rest of her, Darklight had left her face relatively unscathed. "What in Primus' name did he do to her?" Ten mournfully cried, staring at all the bandages covering Robin's body where the blankets and hospital gown did not.

"Trust me; you don't want to know," Ratchet quietly replied, remembering the data-packet Darklight forced on him while trapped in the ruins.

Tenebrous slowly edged closer, his optics taking in the sight of his friend lying in the infirmary bed, with monitor wires and IV tubes sticking out of her, when one thing in particular caught his attention: Robin's right leg ended abruptly not far below her knee. "Ratchet…what's wrong with her leg?"

The CMO looked down at Ten with an unreadable expression, silent for long, agonizing moments, before he finally said, "They had to amputate it."

"What? Why?"

"There wasn't much choice: even if it hadn't become infected, the bones themselves were crushed too badly for anyone to repair it."

"But…but you can fix her, right?" he begged, his yellow optics full of pleading. "That Decepticon fragger tore my arm off, but Jolt managed to put it back, no problem, so you can give her a new leg, can't you?"

"It's not that simple," Ratchet regretfully replied. "You can't just build new human parts the way you can with a Cybertronian…and even if I could make a new leg for her, there's no guarantee her body wouldn't reject it. In her current state, that would offline her for sure."

Ten shuttered his optics and ground his mouthplates together as he fought down the urge to wail. It wasn't fair! "So you're saying he won?" he grated out harshly, not looking at Ratchet.

"No, Darklight didn't win!" Ratchet snapped, glaring down at the blue mech. "Robin is still alive, isn't she?"

"But you can't fix her! She won't be able to walk!" Tenebrous' pitch rose as panic and grief flooded through his tiny frame. "The other humans will throw her away!"

"No, they won't," the CMO gently replied, crouching down by Ten so that he no longer towered over the smaller mech. "Humans may do a lot of terrible things, but they aren't all smaller versions of the Decepticons. The ones we work with here definitely would not do such a thing." He paused, waiting for Ten to look up at him, and then added, "Even if they wanted to just discard her in such a manner, I can promise you that Prime would not condone such an action."

The little Neutral stared up at Ratchet, apparently searching for some sign of falsehood, but when he did not find it, he let out a huge sigh of relief. Then he looked back at Robin, and softly asked, "Can I stay here with her? I know I'm not her family or anything like that, but…please?"

"I don't see how it would be a problem, as long as you stay out of the way," Ratchet thoughtfully replied. "It may be best that someone familiar is nearby when she finally wakes up."

"I promise," Tenebrous quickly agreed. "I won't get in the way or bother anyone…I just want Sis to be okay."

…

More time went by, with little change in Robin's condition, but Ten stayed by her side as much as he could. He hadn't admitted it to anyone, but he felt horribly guilty for not saving her from Darklight, and he was determined to make up for his failure. Staying with her, however, did not mean Ratchet or Jolt would allow him to neglect himself, especially after being so recently repaired. When the two medics realized that Ten truly meant to stay by his friend's side, not even leaving to get an energon ration, Jolt practically dragged the little Neutral out of the infirmary, muttering, "I didn't put you back together just so you could let yourself fall apart."

"But Sis needs me!" Ten vehemently protested, squirming in the larger mech's grip as he carried him down the corridor.

"That may be the case, but she needs you online and in good condition, not on the verge of shutting down!" the junior medic snapped, clearly annoyed. He then entered another room, one clearly set up for treating Cybertronians, set Tenebrous down on a berth, and handed him a small energon cube. "Drink that…SLOWLY, mind you, then you can go back to see the femme. She's not going to go anywhere while you take care of yourself."

…

Robin jerked awake, panic flooding her system. She had to get away! Darklight was coming and she had to get away so that Optimus could fight him without having to worry about her, but something was holding her down. Confused, she thrashed until she was free, not noticing that the thing holding her was a blanket, nor that she was lying in a hospital bed, until she managed tumbled out of it and hit the floor. The fall jerked the IV she hadn't noticed out of her arm, and pulled off several of the electrodes leading to a nearby monitor, which started wailing loudly as it read her as having flat-lined.

Now very panicked, Robin ignored the high-pitched beep of the monitor in favor of trying to get up and run, since there was no longer a chain wrapped around her waist. She managed to rise up onto her left knee, but when she went to plant her right foot on the floor to stand, it wasn't there anymore. Instead of a whole leg, there was only a tightly bandaged stump ending a few inches below her right knee. Terrified, Robin screamed, but quickly stopped herself when she realized that the noise could attract Darklight's attention.

Whimpering with fear, but determined to fight back, she looked around the room for anything she could use as a weapon. The first thing she spotted was the IV stand near the bed, so she quickly grabbed it and began dragging it as she scooted across the infirmary. After an agonizing crawl, she managed to make it to a large, metal table against the nearest wall, and quickly tried to wriggle under it, only to yelp as her makeshift weapon knocked down several metal bedpans with a loud clatter. By this time, the sound of very heavy footsteps filled the room, so Robin quickly snatched up one of the bedpans to use as a shield. The steps drew even closer, and now the electronic sounds of Cybertronian language joined them…most likely swearing at her for going missing. "You aren't going to get me this time, you Skepticon bastard!" she growled under her breath, readying her weapons for the incipient battle.

…

When the machine monitoring Robin's vitals signaled a flat-line, Ratchet was the closest medic, human or Autobot, so he hurried to help her. When he entered the room, however, she was nowhere around. Instead, the bed was empty, the blanket flung off it, and the IV bag and electrodes strewn across the floor. "It figures she would wake up while everyone else is gone," he grumbled in Cybertronian. The CMO knew she could not have gone very far, however, and quickly looked around the room, spotting her under the table by the wall. _"Of course she's hiding. She most likely has no idea where she is."_

Carefully, Ratchet approached the table, not wanting to startle her further, and therefore was quite surprised when she let out a warlike screech and jabbed something slender and metallic into his ankle! The blow did not do any damage, but still managed to jostle a rather sensitive wire, sending an unpleasant tingly sensation shooting up his leg. "What the frag are you doing?" he demanded in English, jumping back as the object, an IV stand, came out in an attempt to poke him again.

"Skepticon son of a bitch!" Robin screamed back at him, shaking the pole in a threatening manner. "I'll kill you!"

Although Robin could not see it from under the table, Ratchet wore an expression of deep disgust as he shook his head and snapped, "I am not a Decepticon! Now, come out from under there before you injure yourself further."

"I don't believe you!"

The CMO let out a mechanical sigh, but got down on his hands and knees and peered under the table at her. Not only was she holding an IV stand like a spear, she was also wielding a bedpan as if it was a shield. Although he was weary of the little human's unwillingness to cooperate, Ratchet's sensors indicated that she was feverish and quite possibly delirious, so he put on the calmest expression he could muster, and said, "If I was truly a Decepticon, do you think I would waste time trying to talk to you, when I could just kill you?" Robin flinched at that, but made no other moves, so Ratchet continued, "Now, will you please be reasonable and come out from under there?"

Robin did not move, did not blink, but continued to stare blankly at the grey and green medic for a long, unnerving moment. Finally, she snapped out of her reverie and responded, but not in the way Ratchet was hoping. The injured woman's expression twisted into a mixture of rage, grief, and terror and she chucked her bedpan-shield at Ratchet with all her strength, hitting him squarely in the face. Surprised by the sudden attack, the CMO flinched away, even as the now dented pan clattered to the floor. Before he could even react to that, Robin began shrieking at him, furiously jabbing the IV stand at him as she did so.

"Skepticons wouldn't talk? Your little friend Darklight talked!" she screamed, tears running down her face as she continued to flail at him. "He talked and laughed the whole time he was hurting me! And when he wasn't hurting me physically, he was telling me how worthless I was and how Orion…Optimus just pitied me! Then, when I couldn't scream anymore, he petted me like I was some kind of goddamn dog, so don't you sit there and tell me that Skepticons don't fucking talk!"

Ratchet stared down at the furious human who had now collapsed into hysterical sobs, and just felt awful. He couldn't have picked a worse thing to say if he had tried, and now there was no way he would be able to get her out of her hiding place without forcing her, which could injure her further. He ran a hand over his faceplates, backed away from the table a bit, and then reached out on the comms. _::I need someone to come to the infirmary right away,::_ he announced over the "public" line.

_::Why? What happened to Sis?::_ Ten fiercely demanded. _::She didn't offline, did she? I told Jolt to let me stay in there!::_

_::No, she's awake now…and hiding under the table.::_

Ironhide chuckled at that. _::What, the great and wise Hatchet can't get a human from under a piece of furniture?::_

_ ::I'd like to see YOU try it,::_ Ratchet retorted. _::Especially while said human is stabbing you in the joints with a metal rod.::_

_::Can't.::_ the weapon specialist laughed, not bothering to keep the humor out of his voice. _::You threatened to pull both my legs off if I tried walking around before the repairs are complete, remember?::_

"What about me?" asked a small voice near Ratchet's ankle.

The CMO looked down and saw Wheelie standing next to him, peering interestedly at the human hiding under the table. "You want to go under there and try to get her out?" he asked, looking doubtful.

"Why not?" the ex-Decepticon replied.

"What makes you think you can?"

"She'll listen to me, because I'm cute!" Wheelie proudly stated.

Ratchet stared blankly down at the tiny mech. "Cute?"

"Yeah! The Warrior Goddess says so!"

Without waiting for Ratchet's response, Wheelie shifted into his toy truck form and slowly rolled under the table. Robin continued crouching in her hiding place, fighting down the urge to scream as her leg throbbed, tingled, and burned simultaneously. The new Decepticon was still there, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much pain she was in, so she kept quiet, but kept a tight grip on the IV rod. Then, as she continued watching the grey and green mech, a different sound caught her attention. Warily looking around, she spotted a small remote-controlled truck joining her under the table. "What are you?" Robin snapped, glaring at the little truck as she scooted back against the wall.

"I'm Wheelie," the toy replied as he shifted into his bipedal form. When she didn't respond right away, he rolled a little closer and peered up at her uncertainly. "Hey, lady…you all right?"

Robin stared down at him in horrified fascination, like a mouse watching a snake. His optics were red. _"Red… Red… Redredredredred…"_ her fevered mind started chanting as her breathing sped up. The injured woman began shaking as her blood roared in her ears, and the bright, sterile room faded away, replaced by memories of death, pain, and crimson eyes like those of a demon.

_"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE…"_

Darklight. Darklight had her and now she would die…

_**"You're **_**my**_** toy, now…"**_

But not before he had his fun…

…

Wheelie gazed up at Robin, who now stared blankly ahead, tears streaming down her face as she trembled violently. "Hey, Doc?" the little mech began uncertainly. "I think somethin's really wrong with this broad."

"Is it _that_ obvious?" Ratchet replied, his tone positively oozing sarcasm.

"No! That ain't what I mean! She's actin' all weird, like her processors glitched up or somethin'."

Ratchet immediately got down on all fours again and peered under the table at her. Without even activating his scanners, he could tell that her vital signs were extremely elevated. "Not good," he muttered wearily. "Definitely not good."

At the same time, Wheelie raised his hand and waved it in Robin's face. "Hello? Earth to human?"

"Wheelie, don't!" Ratchet hissed, glowering down at the much smaller mech.

"What? Why? This broad's frozen stiff."

The tiny mech got his answer when Robin began shrieking again, and swung the IV rod at him with what strength she had left. The pole whacked the ex-Decepticon with a loud _CLANG _and sent him tumbling from beneath the table. "Primus, what the Pit is wrong with you, lady?" Wheelie shouted, shaking his fist at Robin as she continued screaming.

"It's your optics, you dumb-aft!" Ten snarled, having finally made it back into the room.

"What're you talkin' about?"

"They're red! Darklight's were red, too!"

Wheelie looked up at Tenebrous uncomprehendingly for a moment, until the Neutral rolled his optics in disgust, and spat, "You sent her into a flashback, genius! She thinks Darklight has her again!"

"How the Pit was I supposed to know she'd react that way?"

"No, you're right; she was only kidnapped and tortured by a psychotic Decepticon, so why would she EVER have a reason to panic at the sight of your red optics?" Tenebrous sarcastically replied, glowering down at the smaller mech. They stared at each other in tense silence, until Wheelie finally looked away, shamefaced, and Ten spat, "You know what? Just get out of here before you make things worse."

Ten then headed toward the table where Robin still hid, and crawled under it. She paid no attention to the Neutral, but stared blankly head, breathing rapidly and clutching the IV rod as if it was her only hope of salvation. She made no sound, but her breaths came in quick, ragged bursts, almost but not quite to the point of hyperventilating. If Robin noticed Tenebrous at all, she made signs of acknowledgment as the mech carefully scooted closer to her. "Sis…can you hear me at all?" he asked, quietly so as not to startle her. "It's me…it's Ten." Robin did not reply, but she did not attack him, either, so he took that as a good sign and continued to speak. "It's okay now. We're safe here."

Robin shook her head in denial, but still stared straight ahead, not focusing on Tenebrous at all. "Not safe," she whimpered, her blank expression crumbling a bit. "Darklight…he hurt you so bad…he did something to my leg…have to hide or he'll find me."

Carefully, Ten edged in front of Robin so that even if she wouldn't actually focus on him, he was still in sight. Then he raised his newly repaired arm, and said, "He hurt me, but these guys fixed it." When her gaze suddenly sharpened and focused on his arm, he added, "These guys, they aren't with Darklight…they're Autobots. They work with Optimus Prime, remember?"

At the sound of Optimus' name, Robin began sobbing hysterically again. "Orion…Optimus…run away! It's a trap!" she wept in desperation.

By this time, the human medics arrived, one of whom crouched next to the table, and called, "Miss Banks, can you hear me?"

Slowly, Robin quieted and looked up at the medic, staring at him as if he was some sort of rare and exotic creature. Another human? That meant Optimus won the fight…right? "Where am I?" she asked, her voice weak with exhaustion. "Safe?"

The medic, a dark haired, green-eyed man in his thirties, nodded slowly. "You're in the infirmary. No one's going to hurt you here."

"Optimus?"

"He's safe, too," the medic replied with a wry smile. "He wanted to be here when you woke up, but unfortunately, he had to go try to calm down the bureaucrats before they all had heart attacks."

Robin began trembling, from both fear, and the adrenaline in her system finally wearing off. "Darklight?'

"Torn to slag," Tenebrous assured her. "He can't hurt anyone anymore."

Robin sobbed once, a ragged cry of relief, and then slumped to the floor, too exhausted to fight anymore. Ten let out a small yelp of dismay, but the medic put a calming hand on the Neutral's shoulder, and said, "She's all right…well, as all right as one can expect, given the circumstances. She won't be putting up another fight anytime soon, though. Still, getting her off the cold floor and back into a bed would be a very good idea."

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Yeah, I know...there's no Optimus this chapter. He DOES have other things to do besides hover over a wounded human, though...even if she's an OC. Her name isn't Mary Sue, though, so I'm not letting him shirk his duties over her, so there. :P Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, though, so leave a review if you feel inclined.**  
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